Of Dreams and Nightmares
by Enchanted Sloth
Summary: An orphanage moves into Storybrooke after the curse has broken. Henry desperately tries to find the FTL identities of the orphans while Emma struggles with Snow rejecting her relationship with Regina. Who are these orphans, what are their secrets, and why does one of them own a copy of Henry's fairytale book? Swan Queen and eventual Red Beauty. AU.
1. Operation: Felicity

**Operation: Felicity.  
Here's the down low of the plot (Though it's as discreet as possible): **

** The spell has been broken yet no one is able to return to Fairytale Land. They learn to adapt and, after redeeming herself, allow Regina to return to her place as Mayor. Emma and Regina end up getting together and, after a while, the town also adapts to that and allows it to become normal. The only people who still refuse to accept Regina and Emma are Snow and James, though they keep it to themselves. After a few phone calls and meetings, Regina allows an orphanage for abandoned teens to move into town. One of the orphans, Finny Anderson, gains the attention from the residents of Storybrooke. No one can recall any of the teens from their memories of their Fairytaie lives, but they all feel like they might just have something to do with the lands they once called home.  
Henry, however, remembers Finny for who she was and is now going out of his way to get her to remember her identity as well so she can show everyone the way home and restore the hope that not even the Savior can fix. Can he show her the truth before she is taken by evil?**

**But, in this story, what you thought was good...might just be the evil that both Finny and Henry are trying to avoid.  
**

**So, basically, what is canon Evil in the true plot for the show might not be canon in this story. And it goes the same way for what's considered to be 'good' in the show. **_  
_

******Also! This has Swan Queen and Rumbelle, not to mention an eventual ship that some of you might not like. Oh yeah. It's also going to have Sleeping Warrior. **

**I hope you all enjoy my story. :)  
**

* * *

_She cries._

_I watch, silently, staring hard at the small girl. _

_She was only an infant, yet large bounds of curly red hair sprouted from her scalp. Reaching up, I gently touched my own thick locks. Was I the same age as her?_

_A man walked into the room, his face grimy and wrinkly. He smiled, his teeth rough, pointy, and a faded yellow._

"_I see you two have woken up, my Dearies. How was your..._slumber?"

_The red headed girl stopped crying, her face suddenly steely and her eyes full of anger. A long, fleshy, peal pink scar trailed through and down her left eye. It hit me then that she must be blind in that eye. I wondered if I had any scars._

_He walked over to her, taking her vibrant locks into his hand. She stared up at him, a scowl written on her face._

"_Ah, my youngest. What a beauty. You'll be quite a trade."_

_I watched her open her mouth, almost as if she were going to retort, but she quickly closed it as if she had remembered who she was. Or, rather, who she was_ supposed _to be._

_His hand suddenly flew to her chin, pulling her face so that she was staring at him. _

"_...you must be the teenager that can change ages. Brilliant. A girl who can be whatever age she chooses? Who would've guessed?" He laughed, jerking her head away._

"_But why _guess_ when you already _know_?"_

_He brushed by her and she made a face at him. _

"_Now, now. Who do we have here?" He brushed his fingers down my face, like I was a prize show pony._

"_I never saw you in the future, Dearie. Tell me, what's your name?" _

_He grabbed my face, looking down at me with a wide smile._

_I didn't respond. He didn't make me._

_Pulling back, he laughed, throwing his head back._

"_Well, maybe that's because you're not meant to be there! No worries, it doesn't really matter who you are," He walked to the door, only stopping and looking back at me as soon as his hand hit the rough wood._

"_You're nothing special anyhow."_

_The door shut and I blinked, numbed by his cold words. _

"_...if only he knew." A voice spoke. _

_I whipped my head towards the source, only to find that the small girl had changed into a teenager. She had used a hidden knife to cut away the ropes that bound her to a wooden pole. She crawled over, carefully but quickly cutting away mine._

"_My name's...Anya..." She grunted, cutting away the last of the rope._

_Looking up at my face, she gave me a crooked smile._

"_It's nice to finally meet you..._Princess."

Princess?

_Standing up, she let out a sigh, running her hand through her hair. A small smile played at her lips as she stared me down._

"_Can you stand?" She asked, holding out her hand for me to grab onto. I took it, nodding slightly._

"_Now, I'm sure you're wondering who you are, but that's_ _not the point. This is a mission and we're only so close to succeeding. It's hit or miss, Princess. One chance." Anya winked, making a clicking sound with her tongue. _

_I blinked and opened my mouth, trying to speak, but she covered my mouth with her hand._

"_Save it. There's no need to strain yourself. Like I'm blind in my left eye, you are temporarily mute." She caught my gaze, holding my chin in her hand._

_Dropping it, she smiled._

"_Grab onto me and, _no matter what_, do not let go. At all. Even if I say so. Keep holding. Understand?"_

_I nodded, grabbing onto her arm. Raising an eyebrow, she looked down at me._

"_When I said, 'hold onto me', I meant _'hold onto me'_, Sweetie."_

_As Anya wrapped her arms around my waist, meshing my body against hers, I realized something._

_I was _not_ a toddler._

–

"An orphanage?"

Emma Swan leaned against the Mayor's desk, her eyebrow shooting up. Ever since the curse broke, more people were coming and showing up in town. It was never anything permanent; they would stay a few days or even only a night and then leave the next day. But this was the first permanent move the town was going to be accepting.

An orphanage.

"Yes, Miss Swan. Is that alright with you?" Regina asked, shooting Emma back with the same raised eyebrow.

Emma smiled, glancing down at the desk and then back to Regina's face.

"Of course it's alright with me. Maybe some people in town would be willing to adopt them or something. Maybe they'll find homes. Maybe," Emma stopped, her eyebrows scrunching in confusion.

"Wait a second. You mean, like...permanent?" She asked, eying the mayor.

"Well, yes. I mean, it's going to be as permanent as you can call an orphanage. Why?"

Emma shook her head, standing up straight.

"...there's not really a reason, I guess. It's just weird knowing that, for once, we're actually going to get some new people in this town."

Regina gave a small smile.

"I'm sure that'll be a good thing, Emma. If you can remember, the last new person in this town _was_ you, after all." Regina looked the blonde up and down. "And we all know what happened after that."

Emma smiled back, giving a hearty laugh.

"Lets hope that doesn't happen again. I'd hope that I'm enough and you aren't going to need some little orphan to make your clothes fall off." Emma winked, smirking.

Regina shook her head, slowly standing from her chair.

"Now you know good and well, Sheriff, that you're the only one for me." Regina said, her voice smooth.

She turned Emma around from her perch against her desk, grabbing the blonde by the lapels of her jacket. Her eyes fell from Emma's eyes to her mouth, her tongue shooting out and licking her small scar.

Emma smirked, leaning in closer.

"Touché, Madame Mayor."

Just as their lips were about to touch, a cough rang throughout the office.

Regina turned slowly, her face written with frustration.

"Yes, Kathryn?" She spoke calmly yet her voice was cold.

"Well, Miss Gans is here to see you. Should I send her in, or...?" Kathryn smirked.

Emma looked away, biting her lip.

"Send her in." Regina responded, her hands on her hips.

"Alright then."

Kathryn closed the door behind her and a wave of relief shot through the two women.

"...it could've been worse." Emma shrugged.

Regina laughed, shaking her head.

"Yes, indeed. I'm grateful that everyone in town has welcomed our relationship."

Emma placed a small kiss on her girlfriend's lips before she grabbed some papers off of the desk. Walking past Regina and towards the door, she couldn't help but give her girlfriend a smack on the butt. Regina gasped in surprise, turning around to stare at her lover.

"We'll continue that later." Emma smirked, walking through the door.

Regina inwardly moaned, wishing she could somehow speed up time to move faster. She walked to her desk, sitting down. Her hand scribbled on some paper, but her mind didn't seem to be focused.

"Hello there." A voice boomed throughout her office.

Regina looked up and into the eyes of a stout, chubby woman. She wore tiny glasses perched upon her nose and she had an all-too-knowing gaze placed upon her face.

The Mayor stood, walking around her desk to shake hands with the loud woman.

"Hello, my name is Regina Mills, and I'm the mayor of this town." Regina smiled widely at the woman.

"Well, my name is Alma Gans, and I'm glad that you're the mayor. It would've been a shame had that nice lady brought me to the wrong person." Alma smiled back, little crinkles forming around her eyes.

Regina let out a small laugh, motioning to the chair in front of her desk.

"Go ahead and sit, Miss Gans."

"Alrighty then," Alma replied, sitting in the plush chair.

"Now," Regina sat down at her desk, grabbing a pen and some documents. "We need the names and information of each orphan moving into town. For safety purposes, of course." She informed, clutching to the pen.

"I completely understand. Now, do you want me to fill them out or are you going to just fill them in yourself, Miss Mayor?" Alma raised her eyebrows, smiling warmly at Regina.

Regina blinked.

"Oh!" She held out the pen and papers, laughing. "I'm sorry about that, Miss Gans. Please excuse me."

"That's alright, Miss Regina." Alma started writing, stopping every once in a while to think.

"Would you like to know a bit of information as I go along?"

"That would be lovely." _At least then it wouldn't be so quiet._

"Well, of course, you have our eldest orphan. Her name is Nastya Almana, though we just call her Anya. She's been with us since she was five. At the moment, she is seventeen years old and is thinking about leaving the coop. Actually, she claims that she would've already left it she didn't feel like it was her duty to help me bring money in. I keep trying to tell her that I don't need any help, but she just won't listen. Stubborn bugger, that one is."

"Oh, yes! This is an orphanage for orphaned teens, correct?"

Alma nodded.

"Yes Ma'am. Alma Gans' home for abandoned and orphaned teens. Or, as we like to call it, 'The Coop'."

Regina smiled a little at the reference. There was something about this Miss Alma Gans that she just couldn't put her finger on...

"However, we do have three children with us. Well, two of them are twelve, so they've only got a year to go. Their names are Jack and Gustav Murris, though people just usually call him Gus. They're helpful yet mischievous. Well behaved, don't get me wrong, but children will be children, after all."

Thinking of Henry, Regina nodded, agreeing with Alma.

"Our youngest isn't quite an orphan. She's my own child, Cosette Gans, and she's nine years old. The way she was conceived was an unfortunate circumstance, but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of her. She was my own baby, even if she was half of a stranger's." Alma sat up straighter, filling out Cosette's papers.

"You have Sarah Kimi and Lola Nixie. They're both very outgoing and adventurous. Lola came to the coop when she was thirteen and Sarah when she was twelve. There's also Ishai Kahul who we picked up off the street when he was fourteen. He was a wanderer, helping people out. He's a gentleman and is completely and utterly amazing." Alma looked up, softly laughing.

"But, then again, all of my Chicks are amazing."

After going through a few more kids, Alma looked back up, worry creasing through her face.

"Are you finished, Miss Gans?" Regina asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Well...no. There's one more. But, unfortunately, I can't fill out all of the information on her."

"Fill out what you know."

"Well, her name is Finny Anderson. She's fifteen and she's been with us since she was thirteen. The only person she ever speaks to is Anya, though she might talk to me occasionally. She's very shy and introverted. That's all we know about her." Alma finished up, handing the documents to Regina.

"Does she not speak at all?" The mayor asked, raising her eyebrow.

Alma shook her head.

"That's not it. She'll speak when she feels like it's necessary. But that usually involves a bunch of stuttering and mumbling and you can barely even hear her speak."

Alma stood up.

For the oddest reason, Regina wanted to know more about the mysterious young girl, but she could only know what Alma knew...and that wasn't much. She stood from her desk, walking around to shake hands with Alma.

"Well, Miss Gans, I welcome you to the town. We're overjoyed that you're all here." Regina smiled.

"Why, thank you, Miss Mayor. We're overjoyed to be here." Alma let go of the woman's hand, walking back towards the door.

Regina was about to walk back to her desk when she noticed Alma had stopped, freezing in front of the door.

"Miss Mills, if I may," Alma turned, staring at the woman with that all-too-knowing stare.

"Yes?"

Alma's face grew into a soft and caring smile.

"If it's that pretty little blonde that greeted me as I walked into the room...then you better treat her well 'cause she's a keeper." Alma winked.

Regina blinked, waiting until the older woman had left the room before letting her mouth break out into a wide smile.

–

"Alright, so, Finny, you stay outside and watch the little ones. Sarah and Lola, I want you to start handing me and Ish the boxes from the inside of the van so we can start moving them into the foyer. Is everybody alright with that?" Anya looked around, waiting for objections.

"Well-" Jack started, raising his finger.

Anya glared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Jack. You're not moving boxes. You're like a skinny strip of bacon; there's no muscle on you." She flicked him on the forehead while smirking.

He made a face, rubbing at the place she flicked.

"You need to trim your fingernails, _Nastya._" He groaned, sticking out his tongue.

She examined them, shaking her head slowly.

"No, Jack. I'm pretty sure it's just a girl thing that you aren't ever going to understand." She responded, sticking out her tongue back at him.

He laughed, smiling and turning to run away, Cosette right behind him and Gus following reluctantly.

"C'mon, you guys! Lets go explore!" Cosette shouted, running ahead as she grabbed onto her yellow tutu.

"Don't go out of the yard! Wait until Alma gets back!" Ishai shouted to the children, smoothing his hair back.

Anya sighed, motioning for Finny to follow the children. Finny nodded hesitantly, running after them.

"Sorry, Finn." Anya watched the younger girl run after the children before turning around and started the transaction of moving the boxes from the truck to the house.

"Alright you guys! Lets get on it!"

–

Finny ran through the trees, pushing branches away with her hands. She stumbled clumsily over roots and stumps before finally catching up with the kids.

They had stopped at a clearing in the middle of the woods, a small building standing in front of them. It was falling apart, the structure breaking at the seams. It looked like it had been lived in yet, somewhere along the way, had been abandoned.

Finny blinked, brushing her long, brown bangs from her eyes to get a better look at the building. It was too big to be a shed yet too small to be a house. She moved closer to it, her fingers brushing it lightly. It was enchanting almost, the little, odd, decaying room in the woods.

"What do you think it is?" Cosette asked, walking up.

Finny knew the question wasn't directed to her, but she shrugged anyways. The kids at the orphanage all knew better than to talk to her. They loved her just as much as the other orphans that they had gotten used to living with, but Finny never spoke to anyone except for Anya and occasionally Alma. Why try and make her speak when you could just accept her for what she was? Or, at least, that's how the other kids saw it.

"Who knows." Jack shrugged, pulling Gus with him as they inspected the 'room'.

"Just a random little building, given the dimensions." Gus agreed.

"Who would build something and just...leave it?" Cosette raised her eyebrow, staring at the building suspiciously.

"I'm out of here. Lets just get back to the house. It's creepy back here in the woods." She shuddered.

"I dunno. I think it's cozy." Jack winked at her.

She groaned and Gus punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"No, Jack. Lets get back. Ishai didn't want us back here in the first place." Gus reminded Jack calmly, grabbing the boy's arm and dragging him from the woods.

Jack sighed, giving in.

"Fine. I'll be back though, trust me. Whether I bring Ishai or not," He complained, crossing his arms.

Cosette gave a stiff laugh before smacking him upside the head.

"Ouch! Needed?" He asked, rubbing it tenderly.

"She didn't slap you_ that_ hard." Gus laughed.

"First Anya and now her. What's up with girls?"

Cosette gave him a look.

"Question is, what's up with _boys_?"

Jack shot her the look back to her.

Staring at the building for only a few more seconds, Finny turned back around, running after the children.

A man who was watching from behind a tree slipped through the branches, cursing under his breath as his cane got caught under a root.

–

Emma walked up to the teenagers who were moving boxes into a large house, presumably the orphanage she had heard so little about. They weren't exactly arguing, but you could hear light bantering from a tall tan boy and an equally as tall, tan girl.

"Why send Finny with them? As much as I love her, she's a push over. Not saying that's a bad thing, but..." The tan boy spoke softly, walking out of the house.

"Listen, Ishai, Finny knows how to keep both those kids and herself safe. We have to give her a little responsibility every once in a while. Maybe then she'll start opening up." The girl spoke, passing him with a heavy looking box.

"It's not that I don't trust Finny, it's just that I don't exactly like the way she works. She's too..." The boy stopped, grunting as he got a grip on a box.

"Don't you dare insult Finny!" A loud, echoing voice exclaimed from the inside of the van.

The tan boy sighed, shaking his head as he walked toward the house.

"I wasn't insulting her. I was merely saying that-"

The girl walked out of the house, interrupting him by slapping the back of his head as she walked back towards the van.

"Sounded like an insult to me." She spoke, her face serious.

He groaned, almost dropping the box.

"Thanks, Anya."

"Any time, _Ishai_." She smirked, turning back towards the van.

That's when she noticed Emma, who was loitering around the side of the van.

"Well, hello there." Anya gave a small smile, walking up to the blonde.

"Hey," Emma responded, holding out her hand. "Emma Swan, the sheriff." Emma smiled as Anya shook her hand.

"Anya Almana. Well, actually, the name's Nastya, but I just go by Anya." Anya let go of Emma's hand, stuffing her hand back into her jacket's pocket. "So, Emma. If we're making too much of a ruckus, we can quiet it down or something-"

"No, no! You guys aren't causing a ruckus." Emma laughed lightly.

"Well, you said you were the Sheriff, so I only assumed." Anya smirked.

"Nope, I came to help with the boxes...if that's OK."

Anya smiled briskly.

"That's definitely OK. We could use some help."

Emma followed Anya to the van, looking at the two girls inside.

"Lola! We have to move the boxes out of the van...not unpack them!" Sarah shouted, laughing at the other girl.

Lola looked up, blushing.

"Sorry. All this stuff is just so interesting."

"You're alright; just pack it back up and put it down here." Anya smirked. "Emma, this is Sarah and Lola. The dude helping with the boxes is Ishai. You guys, this is the Sheriff, Emma Swan. She's going to help us with these boxes." Anya informed.

Emma gave a small wave, smiling softly.

"I'll help move the boxes into the house, alright?"

Anya nodded.

"That's alright with me. Thanks for helping."

"No problem."

The sound of crunching leaves broke them from the promise of moved boxes. Gus led an upset Jack and a smug looking Cosette up to the moving van, his face as calm as always.

"Jack..." Anya started, her eyes dropping to the red mark that stood out on his pale skin.

Jack grunted, looking away.

"He decided to make a comment on her tutu. I don't know if he regrets it, but he should really start thinking before he speaks." Gus informed the older girl, a look of amusement on his features.

"Jack..." Anya started yet again, trying to contain her laughter. Instead she turned to Cosette, holding out her fist.

"Good going, girl. Don't take crap from any guy...especially_ this_ one." Anya laughed, bumping fists with the younger girl.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, raising his arms in anger. "I try to help her with her fashion choices and I get hit!"

"Well, Kid, sometimes it's better to let a girl dress the way they want to. A girl's beauty isn't something you speak bad about." Emma smirked, ruffling the short boy's hair.

He stared back up at her, questioning the reason behind the notion of her hand on his head.

"Who're you?" He asked, politely removing her hand.

"My name's Emma Swan. I'm the Sheriff." Emma introduced herself, smiling softly.

"Oh, well, in that case..." Jack turned back to Anya. "You allowed an outsider to help unpack yet I can't even attempt to move a box?!" He shouted, crossing his arms.

"Jack!" Sarah shouted from the inside of the van. Her head sprouted from the side, a scolding look etched on her face.

Cosette pinched his back. Jack yelped and turned to glare at her.

"What now!?" He exclaimed.

"You're being rude! Emma's only helping." Cosette frowned, glaring back at him.

"Cosette's right." Gus agreed.

Finny walked up silently, her hands inside the pockets of her hoodie. She stared at the ground, trying not to meet Emma's eyes.

Yet, how could she do that when Emma wouldn't stop staring at her.

"My name's Cosette. It's nice of you to help us, Miss Emma," Cosette smiled, holding out her hand. "This idiot right here is Jack and that's his brother, Gus."

Emma smiled down at them, shaking Cosette's hand.

"It's my pleasure,"

Cosette smiled brightly up at her, the white beads on her head clacking as they bobbed around.

"And what's your name?" Emma asked, turning towards Finny.

Finny looked up, her eyes wide. She gulped, a look of fear passing her face. Emma's smile dropped, confused at the reaction she got from the girl.

Anya laughed, her hands on her hips.

"That's Finny. Don't mind her. She doesn't talk too much and she's very shy. Talking to people freaks her out." Anya informed, smiling down at Finny.

Finny smiled shyly at Emma, her bangs covering her face.

Emma couldn't help but smile back. _This kid's familiar..._

_They all are._

"Anyways, we oughta get back to these boxes. They aren't going to move themselves, now are they?" Ishai cleared his throat, noticing the look Emma gave Finny.

"Right." Emma nodded, breaking the stare.

Finny looked back at the ground, fiddling her hands.

"Lola!" Sarah shouted from the van.

"It's just a spoon!"

* * *

His fingers worked nimbly on the potion, mixing and pouring slowly. He hated hiding these things from Belle, but he couldn't help it. If he told her, she would never agree. She would argue that his plan was silly and, once again, edging him on the 'evil' side of the story. She would never understand that this was the way it was supposed to be. _This was the only way that the sacred child could ever come to be._

The jingle of the shop doors brought him from his concentration. He closed the case that contained his potions, looking towards his customer with a smile.

"Why, hello there, Dearie. And..." He stopped, his eyes widening. "Who are you?"

The redheaded girl smiled quickly, looking around.

"I'm Anya. Just moved here, actually. Decided to come and take a look around the town and ran into your store." Anya looked around, her fingers brushing gently over a worn and faded clock. "I love antiques. So much history to be learned, so many stories to be told..."

Mr. Gold closed his eyes briefly, only to open them back up as quickly as they were shut. He smiled back at her.

"Well, not many people of your age would be interested in an old clock." He tilted his head.

She laughed lightly, shaking her head.

"I'm only interested in it for the history. I was just wondering if I could look around is all. I understand if you want me to leave. I don't have any money, after all," Anya glanced at him.

"No, my Dear. You go ahead and look around. My shop if your oyster." He leaned forward, scrunching up his face. "Lets just not break anything,"

Anya nodded.

"I would never," She promised.

He nodded, opening his case. The lid blocked her view, so he decided to work silently and carefully, trying not to get her attention.

He didn't.

Glancing up every so often, he noticed that she had picked up a tiny music box. The outside was silver, a little stripe of dark blue going around the base. Magical, mysterious swirls were engraved on the outside, decorating it. A key hole was placed on the front, yet there was no key in sight.

Anya glanced over.

"Sir?" She asked.

"Yes, Dearie? And, do just call me Mr. Gold," He smiled.

"Does it...open?" She asked, staring back down at the box.

"No. I spent years searching for the key to the box but I never could find it. It's a shame."

He closed the case to his potions once again, walking over to her.

"Have you taken an interest in it?" He asked, glancing down at it.

She was silent for a few moments.

"It's a lovely box. Even without opening it...it's like..." She stopped, her thumb gently rubbing the side of it.

"_Magic_," Gold breathed, his smile widening. "They say that the person who holds the key and can open the box possesses a great, mysterious power. Some even say that the person who is able to open the it isn't even human. In my opinion, it reminds me of Pandora's box...though, I'm quite sure that isn't the case here,"

"...Pandora's box?" She asked, staring back up at him.

"It's the legend of a girl, Zeus' daughter, the first woman made of clay. Her name was Pandora. Zeus sent her to marry a man named Epimetheus and sent the box with her, telling them not to open it. Yet, silly little Pandora couldn't keep her curiosity to herself, and stole the key to the box one night while her husband was asleep. Once the box was opened, all of the horrible things in the world-disease, envy, crime, hate- were released into the open." Gold informed her, watching her listen to him with interest.

"Yet, there was also something else that the box released."

"What was that?"

"Hope." He smiled down at her, enclosing her hand around the rest of the music box as she tried to set it back down.

"Wha-?"

"Keep it. You're the only one who's ever taken any interest in it."

"I don't have any money-"

He waved his hand, laughing.

"No worries, my Dear! It's free! I want you to have it." He turned, smiling at her.

She smiled.

"Really?!"

"Yes." He walked back to his potions.

_'It was yours in the first place,'_

"Now, run along. It's almost closing time."

"Ah. Thank you very much."

She turned, walking through the door.

"No worries, my dear _Anastasia_." He spoke quietly, eyeing the silver key that hung around her neck as he watched her walk away through the shop's glass window.

_The forgotten princess..._

Gold shook his head.

_More like the Princess who never was. The Princess who was taken advantage of by those Charmings to protect _her _Princess from an evil that wasn't really evil._

He scoffed, shaking his head lightly.

Even in a different world, he didn't like the girl. Manipulated at a young age or otherwise, he held a distaste for her that didn't set right. She hadn't done anything, in this world, to set him awry.

Not yet, at least.

–

Finny walked through the town silently, following Sarah and Lola closely. She glanced around, trying not to stare too long at the unfamiliar townspeople. They glanced at her, giving small smiles, but otherwise not acknowledging her presence.

"Lets go look at the school," Lola requested, walking ahead of Sarah.

"The_ school?!_" Sarah gave the taller girl a sideways glance. "I'm trying to avoid _that_ for as long as possible." She groaned, lulling her head around.

"Well, better get used to the idea of going. We're being enrolled and we're starting next week," Lola responded, smiling excitedly.

"What's up with you and learning things...?" Sarah asked, raising her eyebrow.

Lola shrugged, looking away bashfully.

"I dunno. I just want to learn as much as I can...just in case,"

Sarah didn't ask for her friend to finish her sentence.

Finny smiled softly to herself. That's why Sarah and Lola got along, despite their differences. Because Lola wanted to learn as much as she could and Sarah wanted to experience as much as she could...before they lost the privilege of being able to do _anything_.

Just in case.

Stumbling a bit, she almost ran into Sarah as the two girls stopped in front of her, without warning.

Finny looked up, peering over Lola's shoulder in an attempt to locate the reason for the sudden halt.

"Look at those flowers, Lola!" Sarah exclaimed, running off to gaze at them. Lola sighed, chasing after her.

Finny stood, awkwardly playing with the sleeves of her jacket. Should she follow? Or...

Glancing across the street, Finny noticed a building with the sign 'Library' hung over the doors.

Smiling softly, Finny started over to the building. At least there she was allowed to be quiet without any sideways glances. And if a librarian asked if she needed help, she could just shake her head.

Tensing momentarily at the thought of librarians, Finny made a face.

She was quite fond of a librarian, once.

Leaving the thought on the other side of the library doors, she pushed through them, entering quietly.

It was a nicely sized library, an array of shelves, chairs, and tables arranged nicely around the large building. A desk sat near the entrance and a woman was reclined in a chair behind it, her nose buried deep into the pages of a thick book. She was so caught up in the book that she didn't even glance up as the bell attached to the door jingled when Finny walked inside. The younger girl slipped past, quietly thanking whoever was listening that she didn't have to speak to the woman.

Quickly working her way through the shelves of books, she finally hit the section she was looking for. Sifting through the title, reading the backs and inside flaps of those that looked interesting, she chose one and started moving towards an empty table.

She seemed to be the only one in the library. Did no one in this town read? Or was the population so tiny that everyone had something better to do?

Sinking into the chair, she cracked open the book, trying to get as caught up in the words as the woman at the desk had.

No luck.

Finny gave a light smile, turning the back of the book over and absentmindedly reading the description for the fourth time.

Suddenly, the book didn't seem that interesting.

Raising her head and looking towards the front desk, she noticed that the woman who seemed so enthralled in her book was now staring at her. She was biting her lip, an excited look on her face. Almost like she wanted to speak, yet knew that this was a _library_ and didn't want to interrupt her patron. Finny gulped, her eyes flickering back to the book.

_'Beauty And the Beast'_

It was your average fairytale, one that everyone knew. Even If they didn't recognize the name, the plot was something that could recognized in real life situations. It was interesting. Did the beast really deserve the love? Who knew. But Belle loved him anyways. And when you're in love...it doesn't really matter whether the other person deserves the love.

It just matters if they're willing to love you in return and look past your flaws, just as you're doing for them.

Finny shuddered, standing up slowly and walking back to the shelf that the book came off of. Choosing another, she walked back to the table.

_'Romeo and Juliet'_

That was better. She was in a travesty sort of mood, anyhow.

The entrance doors opened and Finny heard two pairs of feet enter the building.

"Hi you two. What brings you here today?" The librarian greeted.

Finny didn't look up.

"Oh, Henry just wanted to get another story." A woman's voice answered.

A smaller pair of feet pattered over to her. Finny tried to bury her face deeper into the dusty pages, but she found it impossible without breathing it all in.

The feet stopped briefly beside of her table and she felt eyes staring down at her. After a moments hesitation, the feet continued walking, however slower than before they had stopped walking.

"Have you heard about that new orphanage that Regina allowed into the town?" The woman asked.

"Yes, I have. I think it was a great idea. We need some normal people here after...all that's happened." The librarian responded. Finny could hear the smile in her voice.

"Well..." There was hesitation in the other woman's voice. "I don't think it was such a good idea,"

"And why not?"

"Like you said, with all that's gone on in this town, I think we should all just stick together."

"And not let anyone else in...?"

The woman must've nodded, because there wasn't any response.

Glancing at her watch, Finny stood up quickly, trying to memorize her page number. Maybe if she came back tomorrow, she could make a dent in it. She didn't want to be any burden to anyone. Turning around, she almost ran into a small boy.

He was looking up at her intently, clutching two books to his side.

"Hi there," He greeted, his smile wide.

Finny gulped, nodding down at him and giving a strained smile.

"Just a guess, but you don't talk much, do you?" He asked.

Finny shook her head.

"I see. Well, that's OK. I hope we can be friends regardless. My name is Henry. You're an orphan, right?"

The girl nodded in response, her smile relaxing.

"That's cool!" His voice boomed with excitement. "Do you like fairy tales?"

Finny motioned to the book she was holding.

He laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes! Though, that's not really a fairy tale. Anyways, here. I think you'll like this one,"

Holding out a thick, brown leather book, he stared up at her excitedly. Yet, Finny noticed, there seemed to be a tinge of sadness in his expression.

"Don't worry about checking it out. It's my own personal copy. When you finish it, come and find me! It's a small town, so it shouldn't be that hard. My mom's the mayor, so if you can't find me, then just go to her." He informed, forcing the book into Finny's hands.

"Henry!" The woman called from the desk, a look of worry on her face.

"Coming!" Henry shouted, glancing at the woman. He turned back towards Finny.

"That's my grandmother. You'd better call her Mary Margaret, though some people call her Snow. She's really nice, so if you ever need to talk about anything, she'll listen. Anyways, make sure you find me, OK? See you later!"

He gave a small wave, running towards Snow. She grabbed the other book he was holding, reading the front.

"This is different, Henry. You didn't get a new fairy tale story?" Snow asked, staring down at him.

He shook his head.

"No. I decided that I wanted to do some research on Princess Anastasia."

–

Walking through the town slowly, Finny stared down at the book's cover.

_'Once Upon A Time'_

To be honest, Finny hated fairy tales. She didn't even know why she read them in the first place, but for some reason, she just couldn't help herself. It was like eating a slice of cake when you're on a diet.

...well, not really.

It wasn't like the stories _hurt _Finny or anything.

The girl shook her head, stopping the thoughts from evolving into something else.

Noticing a bench in front of a diner, she headed towards it, sitting down slowly.

Granny's. What an interesting name for a diner.

Glancing down at the book, she flipped open the cover slowly.

At least there were pictures.

After a few minutes, miraculously, she found herself getting into the book without much forcing on her part. Evil and good; love and hate; Royalty and peasants.

Her brows furrowed. It was all too much. Her eyes skimmed over the words as she pushed on the bridge of her glasses, moving them closer to her face.

Wait.

The book was nostalgic. The pictures were familiar and the style of writing almost looked like...

Finny's eyes widened and she let out a small gasp.

Suddenly, she felt a presence standing in front of her. She froze, looking up slowly.

The librarian.

The woman stood in front of her, her brown hair disheveled. She was panting slightly, almost as if she had been running to catch up with her.

"Hello there," The librarian greeted. "Mind if I sit down?"

Finny shook her head, motioning to the open space beside of her.

"Thanks," The librarian sat down, shifting so she was facing the younger girl. "My name's Belle,"

Finny gulped nervously, gripping onto the book tighter.

"F-Finny," She stuttered, her face turning bright red.

Belle laughed lightly at the girl's response.

"Oh, you're shy! Thanks for telling me, Finny. That's a nice name. Anyway, I chased you down because you left this laying on the table."

Belle handed over a black and red plaid bag that was laying on the bench beside of her.

"You left in such a hurry that it's no wonder you forgot it," Belle smiled kindly, folding her hands in her lap.

Suddenly, she noticed the book. Her eyes widened slightly and her smiled dropped.

"Did Henry give you that?"

Finny nodded, tracing her fingers over the cover.

Belle shook her head, the smile returning.

"That boy. Still trying to make people believe, I suppose." The librarian laughed and Finny found herself relaxing, her grip on the book releasing a bit.

"Hey, Finn!" Anya shouted, running up from the other side of the road.

Finny glanced over, a wide smile growing on her face.

"Sorry I had to leave you with Sarah and Lola. I wanted to take a look at that antique shop that we passed on our way into town," Anya glanced at Belle, her smile wavering.

"My name's Anya."

"I'm Belle. Nice to meet you," Belle nodded her smile matching Anya's as she stared up at the tall girl. "My boyfriend owns that shop, actually. I hope he treated you well,"

Anya's smile regrew.

"You're Mr. Gold's girl? Well, then it's a pleasure to meet you."

Belle gave a thin smile, standing from the bench.

"Well, Finny, it was quite nice to meet you. I hope we can talk some other time. Become friends...if you want." She glanced at the younger girl, giving her a warm smile.

Finny glanced down, forming the words in her head.

"I wouldn't...uhm, mind that...actually." She looked back up at Belle, biting her lip.

Belle laughed.

"You're too cute, Finny,"

She gave a small wave as she headed back to the library.

Anya watched her go, uncertainty washing over her.

"How'd you meet her, anyways?"

Finny shrugged, smirking.

"The same way you met her lover."

Anya stared down at her, arching her eyebrow.

"You? You actually went someplace and met someone and actually spoke words to them..._aloud_." Anya placed her hand on Finny's forehead, checking for a temperature. "Fuck, man. Are you _really_ Finny Anderson? And, if not, what did you do to her?"

Finny laughed, swatting at Anya's hand.

"Yes! I actually did. Be proud. I might not have to follow you around like an annoying younger sister anymore. Relish in that,"

Anya's face fell at those words, but only slightly.

"You know I don't mind you tagging around, Finn."

"...I know. But now, you're going to make new friends. And you know how hard it is for me around people I don't know. I'll only hold you back," Finny gave a forced smile.

"You are seventeen, after all. I'm only fifteen. Next year, you're going to want to be on your own."

Anya scoffed, holding out her hand to help Finny up.

"Yeah, right. C'Mon. I'm going to apply for a job at this Granny's place. Alma says she's close to the woman who runs it and she's interested in hiring me."

Finny made a noise of interest, following Anya as they walked closer to the entrance. As they came closer to the doors, a gasp of excitement could be heard coming from inside. Suddenly, a woman rushed outside, engulfing Anya in a tight hug.

"You must be Anya! I've been waiting for you." The girl pulled back, her face covered with glee. "My name's Ruby and, from this moment on, you're a waitress in training!"

Anya nodded, a grin slipping onto her face.

"This is the most exciting news I've had in a while. I take it Alma has stopped by?"

Ruby laughed.

"Oh, yeah, she came by alright. It's hilarious, seeing my Granny and that woman interact! I take it she hasn't told you of her position here at the diner?"

"Alma works here, too?"

"Well, she has to get her income from somewhere. So, while all of you are at school, she's going to be working as head chef in the kitchen."

Anya blinked.

"Granny's really picky with who gets to work in the kitchen, so this is big news. Maybe not headline material, but it'll definitely get a spot in the newspaper," Ruby nodded. She shifted her eyes, looking behind Anya and instead at Finny.

"I didn't even notice you there!" RUby gave another hug, but this time it was Finny who was squeezed to her body.

"Like I said, my name's Ruby. Welcome to Storybrooke. Alma's spoken a bit about you, too. You're Finny, right?"

Finny nodded, glancing at the ground.

Ruby stared at her quietly, arching her eyebrow with a slight smirk.

"Alma said you were shy. I didn't know that it was this bad."

"Hey, at least she isn't mute or anything." Anya smirked, walking into the diner.

Ruby agreed, laughing as she following Anya inside.

Finny looked down, closing her eyes and taking a small, deep breath.

_'I'm not anymore'_

–

Regina closed the doors to the Town Hall behind her, taking her keys and locking them with a delicate click.

Paperwork and meetings had taken up most of Regina's day and she felt herself relaxing at the idea of being able to get home to spend some time with her family. She turned around, she headed to her car, only to see a familiar shadow standing in front of the passenger door.

The mayor smirked, a playful look coming over her features.

"You know how I feel about loitering, Miss Swan."

Emma laughed.

"I never heard you complaining about it before, Madame Mayor," Emma leaned in, giving Regina a soft kiss. "How was your day?"

Regina sighed.

"That bad, eh?" Emma smirked, cocking her eyebrow.

"Mom!" Henry shouted from the inside of the car, opening his door and launching himself at his Mother.

Regina smiled softly, wrapping her arms around the small boy.

"Today at the library I met one of the kids that moved into town! I don't exactly know her name because she was really shy, but I hope we can become friends!" He exclaimed.

"I was thinking, why don't we go down to Granny's diner tonight for dinner? I hear they've got a new cook and I'd like to try her food," Emma suggested.

"Yeah!" Henry shouted excitedly, looking up at his Mother with pleading eyes.

Emma leaned in a bit, sticking out her bottom lip. Regina sighed, a look of faked defeat showing on her face.

"Alright, I _guess_ that's fine." Regina smirked, walking around to the driver's door. Emma ran ahead of her, holding the door open.

"Thanks, 'Gina." The blonde leaned down and captured Regina's lips with hers. Pulling back, Emma smiled sweetly and allowed Regina to get into the car.

"I hope you're willing to keep that promise that you made this morning,"

Regina gave Emma a look that made the blonde wish she could take her right there, outside of the car. Unfortunately, with the downside of being watched by their son and in plain sight of the whole town, that was impossible. Emma groaned, throwing her head back as she stomped back to the other side of the car, opening her door and getting in quickly.

"You OK, Emma?" Henry asked, leaning forward as Regina started the car.

Emma nodded slowly.

"I will be...tonight, that is."

Regina couldn't help the small snort that made its way through her throat.

–

"OK, Anya. So, you're practically the perfect waitress except for one thing," Ruby sighed.

"You don't need to run around cursing like a sailor as you ask the customers what they would like to eat." She shook her head. "It's common sense, Hon,"

Anya laughed silently.

"Listen, it was one customer. And that person happened to be Leroy. Or Grumpy, as you guys like to call him." Anya narrowed her eyes. "Why Grumpy anyways? I know his disposition isn't exactly the most charming, but-"

"Oh, no. Call him whatever you like, just, please, lets refrain from calling him a _jackass_. _Please_." Ruby leaned back against the counter, running her hand through her hair.

"He was treating me like I was...I dunno. I just felt..." Anya trailed off, glancing down.

"Like you were less, right?" Ruby looked at her, smirking. "No worries, little cub. I used to feel like that, too. Well, not really. I used to get guys whistling at me because of how skimpy my clothing was. I never really felt _less_. Mostly because I knew how to fend them off."

Anya blinked.

"Did you just call me...little cub?" Her eyebrow arched.

Ruby groaned, lulling her head around.

"Not the point, Anya! Point is, the more you show Leroy that you aren't going to take it, the more he respects you. So, don't worry. Over time, he'll leave you alone, OK?"

Anya nodded.

Finny watched from her perch on the barstool, a faint smile growing on her face. It had been a long day, but she had seen Anya work hard for once. Her friend was always talking about providing for the orphanage but, to be honest, Finny wished that she would take her hard earned money and save it. Whether college or just getting her own place, Finny knew that Anya didn't want to stay around with the infamous 'Mother Goose and her Chicks' forever.

Anya deserved the freedom that she so frequently craved.

"Alright, Anya. Just one more customer and I'll let you go, alright?"

"Yup. I'm down with that. What ever you say, Boss Woman," Anya smirked, winking.

"Just Ruby, please," The older woman laughed, ruffling Anya's ponytail.

"Alright, alright," Anya laughed in return, swatting away Ruby's hand.

Finny saw Henry before Henry saw her, but once he did, he was shooting off through the diner before either Emma or Regina could stop him.

"Hey!" He shouted, stopping to stand in front of him. "Have you been reading the book?"

Finny nodded, handing the book down to him.

"You're...finished...?" He asked, the excitement on his face falling slightly.

Finny gave a small smile, shaking her head lightly.

"I'm, uh, already familiar with the stories," She admitted, ducking her head.

He laughed, holding the book back out to her.

"I don't think you've read the stories in this way, though. This way is the actual truth. _These _fairy tales are _real._" His excitement replenished.

Finny shook her head again, gently placing the book back into his hands.

"Alma...my...foster mother. She has a copy of this book. I've read it." She admitted, somehow managing to lock eyes with the boy and say a sentence without stuttering.

He blinked, watching her closely. He could tell that she was telling the truth, yet she was hiding something. He wasn't as good as Emma in telling if people were lying, but she was teaching him slowly.

"Alma must be amazing then."

Finny smiled.

"She is. I'm...Finny, by the way."

The little boy laughed at Finny's deep red face and realized how much of a struggle speaking to people actually _was_ for her.

"You can talk to me. I mean, I've been wanting a friend. And I think, underneath all that silence, you want one too."

Finny's expression went from surprise to relaxation to happiness. She made a small noise of embarrassment and hid her face. Henry shot her his usual, wide smile, bouncing on his feet.

"Henry!" Emma called. "What do you want to eat?"

"Oh- the usual!" He called back, turning around to smile at them.

The two women gave Finny a wave from their booth.

Finny ducked her head, holding up her hand in a bashful wave.

"I've gotta go eat. But before you leave today, will you promise to come over and meet my parents?"

Finny looked down, her eyes falling to the gleaming white tile floor.

"I know you're really shy, but my Mother's the mayor and my Ma's the sheriff, so you'll have to meet them eventually," He shrugged, staring up at her with a pleading expression.

"Well..." She whispered to herself. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded hesitantly.

"Alright, Henry. I'll...meet your parents."

That hesitant agreement seemed to be enough for him because he ran off, back to the booth that both of his mothers occupied.

Finny sighed, taking a deep sip of her iced tea.

"Who was that?" Regina asked Henry as soon as he sat down.

"Her name is Finny. She's the girl I met at the library today." He exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah! I met her yesterday when I went to help them move boxes into the house." Emma nodded, remembering her encounter with the shy girl and the strange connection they had shared. Well, it was probably more awkward than strange for the younger girl, but with all of the things Emma had gone through in the town, she wouldn't be surprised if Finny was somehow connected to Fairy Tale Land.

Regina seemed to read her mind.

"If Finny has anything to do with the Enchanted Kingdom, I don't know what it might be. I certainly don't remember her." Regina sipped some of her water.

Henry smirked.

"That's what _you_ think."

"What was that?" Emma asked, missing his words.

"Just agreeing with you," He lied, smiling.

Emma narrowed her eyes, hearing the lie in his voice. She decided to drop it.

"Anyways, I asked if she'd come over here to meet you guys before she left. I thought, since you were mayor, you should know everyone. But she's really shy, so don't ask too many questions or anything."

Regina agreed that it was for best if she knew who was living in her town and Emma laughed at her business-like response to what he said.

Anya walked up with their food, setting the tray down on their table.

"Here you go, guys. Hope you enjoy it! Ruby will get the bill for you when you're ready to go, M'Kay? Have a good night!" Anya exclaimed, smiling down at them. "Oh, also, Emma. Thanks again for helping us move in. We really appreciate it."

"Well, it looks like you have moving in all under control without my help." Emma laughed lightly. "You already have a job!"

"Oh, no! I only got this job because Alma's friendship with Granny. Not to mention," Anya leaned in, lowering her voice. "I'm pretty sure Ruby has a crush on me-"

Red walked up quickly, giving Anya a light slap on the head.

"You're such a liar, Anya," She smirked.

"Not a liar," Anya winked. "I just like to stretch out the truth."

Finny decided that this would be the best time to creep over, silently standing beside of Anya. Her hands instinctively started pulling at the bracelets on her wrist.

"Ah, Mom! This is Finny. Finny, this is my mom, the mayor." Henry introduced the two, his face lighting up.

"Regina Mills. It's nice to meet you, Finny." Regina politely wiped her mouth with her napkin before turning her head to smile at the girl. Yet, once their eyes locked, Regina's smile faltered.

Finny broke their gaze, mumbling a soft 'hello'.

"Nice to see you again, Kid," Emma spoke, giving Finny her signature half-smile.

"H-hello," Finny mumbled, her hands trailing up to twist the fabric of her jacket sleeve.

Regina reached out instinctively, removing Finny's fingers from the puzzling twist they had managed to tangle themselves up into. Their eyes locked as Regina pulled her hand back.

"There's no reason to be so nervous. Hold you head high, Dear."

Finny broke the stare, her face turning beet red. She nodded sheepishly, muttering something softly.

"Girls! C'Mon, it's time to get back to the coop!" Alma called, entering the diner suddenly.

Finny gave a small smile before scurrying off towards the door, hovering behind the stout woman. Anya watched, sighing at the girl's actions.

"Sorry about her. When people give her compliments or try to make her see that she should do better, she gets really shy. Well, more shy than she already is." Anya explained, apologizing for her friend. "She isn't brainless, though. She's tried to change, but it's just not in her character. She hates being so shy, but she just doesn't have the means to be as outgoing as everyone else."

Anya let out a deep sigh.

"Anyways, it was nice to meet you guys. And, well, it was nice seeing you again, Emma. Gotta go though. Alma doesn't play when it comes to ignoring an elder's orders."

Alma shouted for her to hurry up.

"See? It's like she's never been a teenager before."

Henry stared hard at the woman.

"I don't think she_ has_."

"Henry!" Regina scolded.

Anya snorted, her hand flying up to her mouth.

"That's gold, Kid. Henry, was it? I'll make sure Finny comes by a lot to spend time with you. You'll do some good to her."

"Thanks!" Henry smiled.

"You're welcome. See you guys later."

_'Yes. Yes, you will.' _Henry thought.

_'And this marks the beginning of Operation Felicity.'_

* * *

**Yes it does, Henry!  
**

**Props if anyone can guess the characters that Ishai, Sarah, and Lola are representing. That whole spoon comment should really help with Lola's character. :D I'm not sure if Ishai is going to stick around in the story (I have to find a place for him), but I'm certain that both Sarah and Lola are. It's not that obvious who they all are yet, but it's DEFINITELY not obvious who Jack and Gus are. There are a lot of clues in their names, however. I mean, 'Alma' means 'Fostering Mother' and 'Gans' means 'Goose' in German.  
**_**'Fostering Mother Goose'  
**_

**I'm feeling so clever.  
**

**Anywho, I hoped you liked the first chapter. :) Thanks for reading~!  
**


	2. Pandora's Box

_**Hi again! **  
_

_**I'm finally getting somewhere with this story. I know exactly how it's going to go from here (I think), so I'm excited about that. :D  
**_

_**It's still dangerous for anyone to try to leave Storybrooke. Lets just keep that in mind, kay? ;)  
**_

_**Hope you enjoy!**  
_

_**Also! This chapter takes place a week after they've moved to Storybrooke. :)  
**_

* * *

_We had been sucked through some sort of portal only hours before, landing effortlessly in the middle of the woods. I had never seen anything like it. Anya seemed to be used to the idea of transporting in that manner, but I'd gotten a headache from it. She had handed me a tin of water, telling me to drink as much as I needed._

_As I sit, mesmerized by the flames of our fire, I realize that the memories of my childhood are quite vague. When I try to recall them, I only see flashes of women, little boys, and castles. The women look like me, but I can never recall them long enough to place names with faces. _

_I glanced over to the other side of the campfire, watching the mysterious Anya through the flames. _

_It didn't feel like I'd even had a childhood. I glanced down at myself, staring hard. Why couldn't I remember anything? It felt like I didn't even belong in this body._

_If I had glanced through the flames once again, I would have noticed Anya staring at me silently._

"_Princess." She spoke softly._

_My head snapped up and I responded to her with a soft noise._

"_I'm assuming you have questions. Considering you're mute, I'll try my best to explain everything. But I need you to answer something...can you remember anything?"_

_I hesitated. Should I trust this mysterious girl? She did rescue me from that beastly man..._

_I shook my head._

_Anya's mouth formed a thin line._

"_Well," She sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Queen Snow warned me that you may not remember."_

_My puzzled expression must have told her to explain._

"_Snow White, Queen of the Enchanted Kingdom. She is your guardian. Your only family." _

_Anya paused._

"_You come from the Enchanted Kingdom. The guards found you somewhere around the gates of the castle, abandoned. The Queen decided to raise you as her own. She and King James took you in. You became Princess Felicity."_

_So that was my name. Felicity._

"_I was appointed your knight. We don't know much about your past or even who your real parents are, but we decided that didn't matter. You were abandoned, after all." _

_Anya lowered her gaze. I found myself doing the same. Abandoned?_

"_Unfortunately, as of late, people have been after you. We managed to protect you to the best of our abilities, but you managed to slip into the garden. You've always resented the fact that you must be guarded at all times, so any chance you got, you'd run off on your own._

"_It only took one time before that man snatched you up. Rumpelstiltskin, as Snow calls him. He put a temporary spell on your voice. It will wear off within the next few days. But, as your knight, it was my duty to follow him. Considering my ability to change ages, it wasn't hard to get inside."_

_Anya smirked._

"_I hope that's cleared it all up for you. And, within a day's time, we'll be home again."_

_Home._

_The very thought of calling that place, that kingdom, home..._

_It's bitter._

_We had been asleep for what had seemed to have been an hour when we first heard it._

_A wolf._

_My eyes snapped open, the sound familiar. Unlike this Anya girl, who I've apparently known for years and can't find any familiarity in, the howl of the beast seemed to comfort me. _

_I tried to push the lingering thought that I belonged with Rumpelstiltskin out of my head._

_Anya quickly stood, grabbing her sword. My eyes widened. Suddenly, I wish I had my voice. It's only a wolf, it doesn't deserve to die._

_The knight's face softened, as if reading my mind._

"_No worries, Felicity. I will not harm the wolf unless if tries to harm you. I'm only setting out to scare it away. Stay down and do not leave the campsite." She ordered._

_I nodded, pulling the blankets back around me._

_She left quietly, creeping off in the direction that the sounds had come from. _

_In the silence of the campsite, I felt at peace. _

_She's hiding something from me. Or, perhaps, she's only telling me what she knows. Perhaps the hesitance and uncertainty in her voice is because she doesn't believe what her beloved Queen Snow is telling her._

_Why can't I remember?_

"_Felicity," _

_I jumped lightly, burrowing myself into the covers. A hand slowly lowered itself onto my back. The touch was hesitant._

"_Sister, we must hurry. There's no time to be hiding under blankets."_

_A boy, his voice young and childish. I uncovered my head, staring him in his eyes. His face softened as we locked our gaze._

"_It's me. I'm here to rescue you." _

_He sounded so certain, so happy. He was just as familiar as the wolf's howl and I felt safe even staring at him._

_I crawled from the blankets, standing slowly. He held out his hand, his smile wide. A woman in a red hood appeared behind him, looking past me. I held out my hand, inching it closer to his. _

"_Red," _

_This time, it was Anya's voice. _

_She grabbed my shoulder's, roughly pulling me away from the boy. _

"_No, Princess. They're evil," Anya hissed into my ear._

"_Y-" Ah. My voice. "You're hurting me! Let go!" _

_My shout shocked the knight, for she let me go, anger washing over her face._

"_Anya." The hooded figure, Red, as Anya had called her, stepped forward. The moonlight washed over her, illuminating her with a beautiful glow. My eyes widened at the sight of beauty._

"_Come back with us."_

_Anya's face grew strained, as if the words she was about to speak were hurting her._

"_I can't. I would be betraying Queen Snow."_

_Red gave an emotionless laugh, though it seemed laced with something bitter._

"_Can't you see she's tricking you? Did I not train you well enough?"_

_Red glared at Anya, her face masked with disappointment._

"_I guess that question answers itself."_

_The knight flinched._

"_Come, Prince. It is useless. If anything, at least we now know who holds the princess captive." Red grabbed the boy around the shoulders, quickly moving him forward._

"_W-wait!" I shouted, holding my hand out as if it would somehow stop them. "You called me sister, little boy. Am I...really the sister you speak of?" _

_They didn't stop walking, but the boy began struggling against the woman's grip._

"_Don't leave me!" I shouted louder, my voice echoing through the trees. _

"_Please..." _

_I glanced down, gripping my dress. The ground suddenly became blurry, the wetness burning my eyes. A wracking sob overcame my body and, instantly, I fell to my knees, crying out to anyone who would listen._

"_I'm sorry."_

_The voice echoed through the trees, almost as if the wind was trying to console me. It was nothing but a whisper._

_I heard the clutter of Anya's armor as she huddled herself back underneath the blankets._

"_We'll set off in the morning. We should be back at the castle by sun down."_

_That was the last she said before I heard her flip over, facing away from me._

_I hiccuped._

–

"Finny! Finny!"

Finny jumped up, gasping for breath as she held onto the person who kept calling her name. She lifted her head, staring straight into the eyes of Anya.

The knight.

Finny quickly shook her head, trying to forget the dream. Anya reached out, steadying the girl. Her hand brushed the hair from Finny's eyes, a look of worry etched onto her face.

"You alright?"

"Y-yeah."

Anya shook her head, arching her eyebrow.

"You were sobbing in your sleep, Finn. You're not alright."

"It...it must have been a nightmare." Finny gave a smile, trying to stop herself from taking deep gasps of air.

Anya nodded slowly.

"You sure?"

"I'm positive." Finny glanced around, her eyes landing on her clock.

"Three in the morning. Great. Go back to your bed, Anya. Lets get some rest."

Anya hesitantly moved off of Finny's bed, rushing back to her own.

Finny heard her friend curse under her breath at the chilly floorboards. After a few minutes, her breathing evened out and Finny relaxed.

That wasn't even close to a nightmare.

Nightmares were something that you would wake to and be assured that they were just dreams. Things that you could escape by waking up, knowing that you weren't harmed. No, this wasn't a nightmare. It was too real.

She could still feel the agonizing pain of losing something that you loved. Of being left behind and abandoned. Having to go to a new and mysterious place; a place where you had been told you had lived all your life but couldn't, for the life of you, remember.

Finny bit her lip. She had felt all of those things before; she knew them all too well. They were just something that she never wanted to experience again.

And, here she was, submerged in those feelings.

One of them, however, was completely new and totally foreign.

The feeling of familiarity. She had felt nostalgia, sure, but the feeling was never this great. And it usually didn't last that long.

Glancing over at her sleeping friend-or a complete stranger-Finny realized that she must have been sobbing pretty loud to have woken her up.

If anything, being a light sleeper is not in Anya's description.

Slowly inching off of the bed, she crept towards the door, gently shutting it behind her as she exited the room.

A few minutes later, she leaned against the railing of the porch, her head in her hand as she gazed up at the moon.

"These dreams...have to stop." She whispered to herself, closing her eyes slowly.

_We awoke quickly the next morning, Anya packing all of her materials up and forcing me to stay put, sitting on a log. When we were transported to our campsite in the woods from Rumpelstiltskin's dungeon (As Anya calls it), a mounted horse had been eating some grass in front of a tree. Anya had told me something about locking the portal onto the location before sending us here, but the headache made it impossible to pay attention to anything she tried to tell me._

_Anya shoved some bread and the tin of water back in my face, muttering that this may be my only chance to eat until we get back to the palace. After I was finished, I climbed upon the horse. The knight stared up at me, her face hard. She climbed up in front of me, adjusting herself._

_We rode for hours in complete silence. She refused to bring up the people from the night before when I asked, so I refused to respond when she tried to make an attempt at conversing. _

_After a while, the gravel beneath the horse's hooves turned to a fine stone. Looking up, I realized that we were now riding on a long bridge, towards a great palace. The greatness should've made me gasp or swoon in awe, but I couldn't. In fact, it left me feeling like I had seen better. I didn't feel like this was ever my home. _

_My home was with those people. Who left me here._

_Abandoned._

_There was that word, yet again used to describe a situation pertaining to me._

_We arrived at a gate shortly after hitting the bridge. With a slight wave to the guards from Anya, it was quickly lowered and we rode on. In the distance of the castle entrance, I noticed a woman standing beside the doors, a look of pure happiness etched on her face._

_This woman, I presumed, was Queen Snow. Her hair was in a long, black braid and her eyes were wide and full of wonder. Is this the way I should be staring at her? _

_Her appearance was elegant; a simple, flowy white dress cascading around her. A simple crown adorned her head and I found it mesmerizing. As Anya commanded the horse to halt, Snow swiftly made her way to us, grabbing my hands tenderly._

"_Felicity..." _

_Tears dotted her eyes and, for some reason, I felt myself grow sick._

_Anya hopped down from the horse, standing guard. Snow looked at her, giving her a small nod of the head._

"_Dame Anya, thank you for rescuing my Felicity."_

_Anya gave a somewhat forced smile._

"_You're welcome, Queen Snow. Though, it is my job, after all. Comes with the title." _

_I pulled my hands from Snow's, hopping to the ground from the horse's flank. Snow immediately wrapped her arms around my body, pulling me into a tight hug. _

"_I missed you," She choked._

_I hesitated, placing my hands awkwardly on the small of her back. Her head nuzzled the side of my cheek and she began purring._

_Wait_-what?

Finny's head snapped back, her whole body jolting awake as she pushed herself into a standing position. She glanced around, noticing the rising sun and the cat right beside the place her head had rested only moments before.

Had she seriously fallen asleep outside?

The cat's tail flickered and its head tilted to the side slowly.

Finny gulped, hesitantly stepping towards the cat.

It had rustic, orange, fluffy fur and a speckle of white surrounding its nose. The most peculiar thing about it, however, was its piercing jade colored eyes. The cat lowered its head, licking at its fur.

The girl stuck out her hand, placing it on the cat's head. She begun stroking gently, her hesitance melting as she heard the cat mewing and purring at her touch.

"Why, hello there, Cat." Finny muttered softly, her face breaking into a wide smile. "What should I call you?"

The cat stopped purring and moved its head to stare straight at her. Due to the piercing eyes, Finny could only think of one name.

"Jadelyn. Just Jade for short, perhaps. But I guess I shouldn't name you until I've found if you have an owner, huh?" Finny laughed lightly.

She could've sworn the cat smiled at her.

–

Anya glanced down at the cat in Finny's arms, her eyebrow shooting upwards slightly

"Where did you find her anyways?"

Finny glanced over, happiness glowing on her face.

"Outside, of course. And I didn't find her; she found me." Finny shot Anya a wide smile before turning her head to look at the sidewalk in front of her.

Anya groaned.

"No shit, Sherlock."

As they passed the diner, Anya excused herself, waving goodbye to Finny as she headed into her work.

"Well," Finny glanced down at Jade. "It's time to find where you belong."

She pet the cat tenderly, giving a small smile.

After walking around for hours, walking up to people and quietly asking if they knew who the cat belonged to, Finny found herself brightening up. The cat would definitely be hers.

She noticed the back of a woman's head and realized that she hadn't been asked. Finny walked up hesitantly, poking the woman on the back.

As soon as she turned around, Finny realized just how bad of an idea it was.

"Hello there," The woman smiled tenderly, twisting her whole body around to give Finny her full attention.

Finny gulped, looking down.

The woman had black hair cut short, almost like a man's. She had wide brown eyes and the kindest smile. She wore a flowy, white jacket and the loveliest necklace that Finny had ever seen.

If she believed that dreams were a reality, she would've assumed this woman to be Queen Snow.

Finny looked back up, clearing her head.

"H-hi. Uhm, I was wondering if...you or anyone you know of, owns this cat?"

Snow glanced at the cat, reaching out to pet it.

"No, I don't think so. She doesn't look familiar, though those eyes are shocking. Did you find her?"

Finny shook her head quickly, smirking.

"It was more like...she found me."

Finny noticed the quirk of the woman's brow, though she kept smiling.

"My name's Sn-" The woman hesitated before holding her hand out. "Just call me Mary Margret."

Finny slowly placed her own hand in Snow's, smiling timidly.

"I'm Finny. And she's Jade."

"It's nice to meet you! You're one of the new residents, right?"

Finny nodded, confused about the woman's puzzled expression.

"Is something...wrong?"

The older woman shook her head, making a noise of contentment.

"...no, it's nothing. You're just..."

_Familiar_.

–-_-_-_

"So, you met my grandma Mary Margret, right?" Henry asked, walking beside Finny as he led her to his castle.

"Yeah, I did. She was nice."

Finny watched her cat run off, climbing up the castle steps.

"This is my castle!" Henry exclaimed, climbing the wide steps. Finny followed him carefully.

"It's quite nice. Especially if you fixed it up like a...clubhouse."

"I don't really have any friends to make a clubhouse with."

They sat, adjusting themselves on the edge of the castle.

"Well, you have me. That's a start, right?"

Henry's smile widened, stretching across his whole face as he nodded. Finny smiled back before the acknowledged the sound of waves crashing against a shore. She whipped her head around, gasping at the sight of the ocean. Henry followed her eyes.

"Wait-we_ do_ live near an ocean now, don't we?" She gasped, turning to look at him.

"Well, I've lived here my entire life. So, yeah. Storybrooke has a beach, but the water never gets warm, so we only use it for seafood." He scrunched up his nose in disgust. "Where did you live before coming here?"

Finny glanced down hesitantly.

"We lived in North Carolina. I'm from Gastonia, an inland city...surrounded by other inland cities. But the orphans come from all over the state." She nodded.

His eyebrow quirked upwards.

"What moved you guys all the way from _North Carolina_ to Maine?"

"I dunno. Alma seemed adamant on coming down here. It's all she ever talked about before I came to the orphanage, but always said she wasn't ready. Anya thinks it's funny that a year after I came to the orphanage she started making preparations for the move." Finny shrugged.

"...do you miss it?"

Finny was quiet for a while, staring off into the ocean.

Did she miss it? After all the hardships and struggle? After her friends abandoned her and left her to suffer?

No. She would never miss it. But he didn't need to know why.

"...no."

Henry dropped it, glad when Finny moved on.

"Now, I do have a problem with the ocean, though. I can't swim!" She laughed.

"You can't?!" He exclaimed, laughing with her.

"Nope. My friend, Keri..." Finny closed her eyes at the thought, smiling. "Keri had a pool and so, one summer, she tried to teach me how to swim."

"How did that work out?"

"Well, lets just say that it was almost the very last day of her life. She drug me out to the deeper end and I ended up freaking out, stepping on her and pushing her underwater because I thought I was dying."

Finny couldn't stop laughing and, suddenly, Henry found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her. He joined in, gasping a melodramatic, "You _didn't_!"

She nodded, gasping for breath.

"It wasn't deliberate, of course. Remember, Henry. It's a dog-eat-dog world." She smiled brightly, patting his head.

"I never think you would mean to kill someone. But this summer when the public pool opens up again, I'll teach you."

"I appreciate it, Kid, but I don't think that's a good idea. I didn't want to drown Keri and I most definitely don't want to drown you," She smiled out into the distance. "Plus, I can do the backstroke. And I'm perfectly content with just sticking to that."

He shook his head, grinning like an idiot. She eyed him, cocking her eyebrow at his grin.

"What's making you so smiley, Henry?"

"Oh, nothing. I just...I really like the idea of having a friend."

Jade crept over, rubbing her head into Henry's side affectionately.

"Have you seriously never had a friend?"

"No. Well, unless you count Emma, but she's my Ma."

"Never had any sleepovers or gone over to other kids' houses to play video games or something?"

"No. I haven't. The other kids..." He looked down. "There was once a time when my Mother wasn't the nicest lady. Though she meant well, she just wasn't used to having something permanent. And then Emma came to town...and I wasn't as permanent."

He glanced back up, waving the thought off.

"Lets just say that my Mother scared all the other kids off,"

"...well, I like video games. And Regina seems pretty kind to me."

"Yeah, she likes you. It's obvious."

A moment of silence passed through them, Jade creeping from Henry's lap to the warm lap of the orphan. A cold wind blew past them, Finny shivering instantly.

"Wait-did you say that you play video games?!" Henry exclaimed, whipping his head around to look at her.

She nodded, her nose making the tiniest of sniffles as it burned from the cold air.

"I'm a big fan of Harvest Moon, but I enjoy just about any game you put in front of me." She crinkled her nose in distaste. "Well, except for Mario Party. The rounds just take too long and I'm not really into party games in the first place."

"Well...perhaps you can be the first person to come over and play video games with me. Well, other than Emma and David." He smiled widely, looking up at her pleadingly.

"Hmm," She stood, yawning. "When you look at me like that, how am I supposed to refuse. I would love to, your majesty," She gave a fake bow, smiling at his laughter.

_"If only you knew!"_

* * *

Anya scrubbed at the table, cursing under her breath as she recalled Grumpy starting that argument with her. It ended up with a cup of coffee (It was cold, she promised!) being dumped on his head. As punishment, Ruby had her cleaning the entire diner. Granny was amused, though she pretended to be disappointed in the girl for doing that to Grumpy. Anya had noticed her dying in subdued laughter, quickly making her way to the back. Even Ruby couldn't help a hidden smile as the incident happened.

And now she was scrubbing the tables down to their very core as punishment.

"Yeah, 'you'll get used to him' my ass..." She muttered, placing her rag in the dish bucket before making her way back into the kitchen.

She had heard from Belle that Finny never found an owner for that cat, so she had decided to keep it herself. Alma agreed that it would probably for the best that they kept the cat, though she knew that Jack wouldn't be too happy about it. Anya responded with her usual, "I'll take care of him."

Anything for Finny.

She reached for the key necklace that adorned her neck, running her fingers across is without a single thought. She couldn't wait until her shift was over. There was something she had to do. A thought that had occurred the night before as she lay in her bed, listening to Finny's whimpering.

The jingle of the bell above the diner doors brought her from her thoughts as she walked back to the front of the diner. Upon seeing the new customers, Anya felt a wave of nostalgia rush over her. She waved the feeling away as quickly as it came, smiling to greet them.

"Hi there!" She led them to a seat quickly, needing to get back to cleaning the diner. "I'm Anya and I'll be serving you today."

The man and woman sat down, smiling just as Anya had. They ordered what Anya was beginning to call 'the usual' (Cheeseburger, fries, and a float of some kind. Though the lasagna was popular, too) and she was sent on her way, giving Alma the order and working to make the floats.

She finished the drinks and started back over to the table, setting them down gently.

"Here you go, guys. I hope you enjoy the floats. I'll be back with your food in a moment." Anya smiled politely, moving to turn away before the woman stopped her.

"Are you one of the new residents? I haven't seen you around."

Anya gave a short laugh, placing her hand on her hip.

"If you mean to ask if I'm one of the orphans, that would be an affirmative. Thanks for asking so politely though. Usually people are just so blunt about it. Like, no, I'm definitely not a resident of this town. I'm just an orphan who happens to live in that big house on Drury Lane." Anya stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Wait-wasn't that address in some sort of poem?"

The woman laughed, shaking her head lightly.

"I do believe it's the Muffin Man. I'm the one who caught him, actually. He was just as good as he looked." The man smiled, obviously telling a joke that he expected the confused waitress to get.

She was silent, staring at the both of them for a few moments until she cracked a smile and gave a small laugh. She noticed a look of realization pass through the woman's face. The woman turned towards her and Anya flinched at the wonder radiating from it.

"You...you didn't come because you remembered, did you?"

Anya's face fell. Did these strangers know something about her parents? How did they know she couldn't remember her life before the age of five?

"N-no. I...I don't have any clue about anything you're talking about. I came here with Alma because this is where she wanted to move."

"Oh." The look of wonder grew less on her face. "Well, I only assumed. They say that no one moves to this town unless they're some sort of fairytale character."

Anya breathed a sigh of relief. Only superstitions, nothing personal.

"Well, what's your fairytale persona?" Anya joked.

"I'm Snow White," The woman winked, poking her thumb out towards the man. "And this is Prince Charming."

"I prefer David." The man laughed, smiling in a...well...charming sort of way.

'Snow White' began laughing, tilting her head back in joy.

"I do believe we're creeping you out! Sorry. You can just call me Mary Margret." She smiled kindly, a wide smile that Anya had sworn reminded her of something.

"Ya know, if you grew out your hair, I seriously think you'd remind me of someone," Anya tilted her head. "But I'm not sure."

Snow's eyes widened and Anya heard her breath hitch. Charming glanced between the two slowly, a confused look crossing his face.

"Anya! Come get the food!" Ruby shouted as she grabbed her purse from behind the counter. Always, around this time of day when the business slowed, Ruby was out the door, headed towards the library. Anya never questioned her, but was always a bit curious as to why the woman seemed to interested in the literature.

"Yes, Boss!" Anya responded sarcastically, quickly removing herself from the awkward situation she had just placed herself in.

_'A town full of weirdos, this one is.' _

* * *

_Books. _

Finny smiled to herself, running her fingers down the spines. She stood by a random shelf, eyeing the selection. It held a collection of young adult books, worn and dusty. From the entire week she'd spent in the town, the library had quickly become her second favorite place. Being with Belle just seemed so familiar, though Finny would never speak of that openly. It sounded so weird just sitting in her own head, so she could never imagine it being spoken.

The bell above the doors jingled and Finny glanced at her watch. 3:30, just like every other day.

She pulled out a book, making her way to the table that Henry sat at. The large, leather bound book was sprawled out in front of him and she found herself grimacing. She had seen it many times, but she could never get over the sight of it.

"What're you reading?" He asked silently, glancing at her as she sat down.

"The Outsiders. It's an amazing book, Henry. You should read it."

The young boy crinkled his nose slightly, staring back down at the ornate pages.

"If it's not a fairytale, then I don't want to read it."

"Your loss." Finny shrugged. "If your school system is anything like mine was, you'll read it in seventh grade anyway."

He shot her a look of disdain before noticing her teasing smile.

"Read what you want, Henry. But just know you're missing out on a lot."

He sighed, returning to his book. She did the same.

Or, at least, she thought she was going to.

"Hey, Finny..."

"Yeah?"

"Did you add more to the book?"

Finny's eyes widened and she swore her heart stopped. Did she add more to the book? She shook her head.

"Oh, well...someone did. But it isn't complete."

"..." Finny managed a small glance at the book before flinching and turning back to her own.

"That's just when you create your own ending, Henry."

"Create my own ending?"

She now knew that she had his attention for she could feel his eyes on the side of her head.

"Yeah. Even if the ending may never come true, it helps a lot when you write your own. Especially when something's not finished. Because if it's not finished, anything could happen. Even what you want to happen."

"But wouldn't that be stealing some one else's characters?"

Finny gave a stiff laugh, shaking her head.

"Some people think of it that way. But, I promise, that's not how it is. As long as you're not making profit from it, every thing's good. And most writers even encourage it." She decided not to hit on the authors who discouraged it.

"Alright." He broke out into a wide smile. "Will you help me write it and illustrate it?"

How could she say no?

"Hey guys," Ruby smiled brightly, sitting down at a chair across from Finny.

"Hey, Ruby." Henry greeted. "Guess what?"

"What?" Ruby leaned in, her smile widening at his excitement.

"Finny just agreed that she'd help me finish the book!"

There was a slight drop in Ruby's demeanor, but she continued smiling.

"Really?!" Belle exclaimed, sitting herself down beside Ruby.

Like every other day, the open sign on the door was flipped over and Ruby joined Belle for a very late lunch. It was the only time of day that she could get away from the diner without Granny scolding her. But everyone needed their free time. And she just decided to spend that free time with Belle.

"I hope you realize that it's a magical book, Finny." Ruby winked, placing a plastic bag on the table, two to-go boxes showing through the almost transparent white of the bag.

Finny blushed, her bangs shielding her eyes as she pushed on the bridge of the nose.

"A-all books are magical, Ruby."

Belle clapped her hands together, agreeing excitedly.

"True." Ruby gave a half smile, handing a box to Belle.

"But what Ruby says is true, Finny. We have to work especially hard on this book. It's extremely special." Henry informed the older girl, flipping through the pages. "Do you think you can draw like the original illustrator did?"

Finny smiled.

"I'm certain I can, Henry. It's a promise."

"If you can draw like that, I'd love to see some of your work." Belle smiled politely, eating gracefully. "Oh, Ruby! What kind of food is it this time?!"

Ruby looked pleased at the enjoyment that her friend got from the food.

"It's Alfredo with chicken and broccoli. A classic, if you ask me."

Henry agreed.

"It's the only real food that Emma knows how to cook. Well, I take that back." He paused, smiling. "It's the only _real_ food that she's good at cooking!"

"Henry!" Ruby scolded. Though it wasn't really justified through all her laughter.

Belle smiled at the small joke before turning back to Finny.

"Oh, Finny! What did you do with your cat?"

"Well, I took her home and fed her before coming here. I left her in my room."

"Aren't you afraid that she'll...ya know..." Ruby crinkled her nose.

Finny laughed, shaking her head.

"No, Jade's a smart cat. The door's open and there's a flap connected to the back door so she can get in and out. I have a feeling that she knows what to do."

"So much faith for an animal you just met."

"She's an amazing cat though, Ruby! Trust me." Henry nodded.

"Well, if you say so..." Ruby smirked. Belle gave her shoulder a light punch.

"Ruby! Stop antagonizing the kids. If you're the reason that they leave and never come back, then I'll have to give you a reason to never come back."

Ruby looked at Belle, an enchanting smile creeping its way across her face.

"Hon, no matter what you try, you can't get rid of me now. I'm never leaving you."

* * *

Finny walked up to the big house slowly, Henry talking a thousand words per minute at her side. She had decided to take him home before it got too late. He seemed like he didn't want her to leave, trying to get everything out before he hit his front door. She noticed the door knob turning and felt a wave of something- warm? - rush over her body.

Passing it off as anxiety, she crossed onto the front porch, turning to look at the boy.

"_Your majesty_," She bowed, sweeping her hand towards the opening door.

"_M'Lady,_" He responded, giggling as he repeated the gesture.

Regina stood in the doorway, smiling as she watched her son and his friend interact. Henry smiled as he glanced up at her, allowing her to wrap her arm around his shoulders.

"Well, Finny, it's nice to see you once again. Thank you for returning my son. I take it you two had a nice time?"

Finny nodded, looking down as she forced herself not to mess with her bracelets or the sleeves of her jacket. Regina noticed, inwardly smiling at the orphan's timid nature.

"Yeah, we did! Finny said we could start a clubhouse with my castle and that she'd-" He stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he was about to tell her that they were going to finish the storybook.

"That she'd what, Henry?" Regina asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"That she'd love to come by and play video games with me sometime," He smiled. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't what he was going to say, either.

"Oh," This caught Regina's attention. She thought that it was Henry that was forcing himself onto the girl, but now...

Henry had a friend.

"You like video games?"

Regina twisted her head around to find Emma looking at Finny, an excited look on her face.

"Y-yeah, I do." Finny smiled brightly, a red blush spread across her cheeks.

"_Grand Theft Auto_?!" Emma shrieked, both her eyes and smile widening.

"Emma!" Regina scolded with a smile. "I thought we promised not to play those games."

Emma shrugged.

"You told me not to play them with Henry. There's no rule saying that I can't watch Finny shoot some people up." The blonde made banging noises with her mouth, holding her hands out and acting like she was pulling triggers.

Regina rolled her eyes and Henry gave a small laugh. Finny stared back at her with excitement, her whole face lit up.

"I used to play Grand Theft Auto with my-" Her face fell and she looked back towards the ground. She couldn't fight it any longer, her hands grasping and twisting at the elastic of the bands.

"I've played it." She looked back up smiling timidly.

"You wanna play it with me sometimes? Well, when you come over to play games with Henry. I understand if you don't." Emma grabbed at her back, speaking in a tired, creaky voice. "I am an old lady, after all."

This drug a laugh out of Finny, her face lighting up once again.

"I'd _love_ to!"

It wasn't meant to be so enthusiastic and as soon as she heard herself say it, her hands immediately flew to her mouth, covering it in embarrassment. And that's when Regina started laughing. Finny's face suddenly resembled that of a tomato, the deep red of her cheeks glowing in the setting sun.

It was just too cute.

Emma looked at Regina in surprise, smiling softly at her love.

Finny made a soft, small sound, covering her entire face as she shook it quickly.

"I'm sorry!" She shouted from behind her hands, flustered.

"_You're_ fine," Emma smiled, placing her hand on Regina's back as the woman bent over in laughter. "It's Regina who_ isn't_."

Henry stared at all of them, his face breaking out into the perfect smile.

Things were playing out quite well.

* * *

Anya sat on the bench in front of Granny's, her eyes drifting down to the music box she held in one hand and the key that was pressed against the fingers of her other hand.

It was her own key, the one she had been wearing around her neck ever since she woke up in her hospital room, scared and frightened at her surroundings. She had been unable to remember anything and, hey, who's to say that she wasn't an orphan before she woke up, but she felt like...she had belonged to someone before she was brought to the hospital.

The key had been a present. She knew that for a fact. There was an empty box on her bedside table, wrapped in striped foil with a giant, red bow. The top had been taken apart from the bottom of the box and a small note had been laying inside.

_'Dear Nastya, _

_I'm sorry, my child. I wanted to explain everything and give you this in person, but it seems that you've been knocked out for quite longer than I had expected. I have to leave now. I already feel like I've been here too long, but it aches to leave you. You must understand that this is not what your mother or I wanted for you. We only wanted a family of our own, but when you mix two species together...you only get dire consequences. Especially when danger follows us around anyhow._

_But I guess you can't remember any of that._

_Just know that we love you, Anya. And we always will._

_That's your name, by the way. Nastya Alamana. It means (a)lone resurrection. We're sorry about how ironic that sounds._

_Happy fifth birthday. Enjoy the necklace. It's quite important; please don't lose it, Sweetie._

_ Love, your Mum and Dad.'_

She always kept the note in her pocket, just wishing and waiting for the day that they might return. And, as the days passed, she lost that hope. She stopped wishing. She stopped waiting. She moved on and realized that her parents were cowards, abandoning her like she was just something that could be thrown away.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to stop wearing the key.

And, now, as she pushed it into the lock and twisted it, the hope refilled her entire body, as if she were being awoken for the very first time.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing being awoken for the very first time.

_'It's just like Pandora's box, Dearie. Now, if only you had listened and taken my warning. Such a shame. Oh, well. Lets see who reaps the consequences.'_

All across Storybrooke, everyone felt the effects from the opening of the box.

Ruby glanced at Belle, the beast within feeling the love that Ruby had pushed aside.

Belle looked back up at Ruby, the feeling starting to grow mutual.

Jack gasped suddenly, falling from the jungle gym.

Despite the dark wave of aura, Ashley ran forward, catching him before he hit the ground.

Lola stood by the ocean, glancing at Sarah nervously as she waded through the icy waters toward the shore.

Sarah glanced back, standing abruptly yet cautiously, brushing sand from her pants.

Ishai dropped his miner's pickaxe in surprise, rushing out of the mine as quickly as he could.

The other miners were not far behind.

Snow White glanced at Charming. Her face slowly grew angry and dark.

Charming looked back at her using the same expression as he stood quickly, grabbing his sword.

Regina stopped laughing and slowly moved her head up, staring at Finny.

Emma did the same, her expression growing from happiness to disbelief.

Henry only smiled, nodding his head knowingly.

Finny stood silently, not exactly understanding what changed the light, happy mood.

Across the town, a woman appeared from the little building in the woods. She smiled wickedly, making her way through the trees.

And, only a little farther away from that, Mr. Gold slowly drove his car over the town line, leaving Storybrooke behind.

Jade broke out into a wide smile, her tail twitching happily as she transformed back into her true form.

_'It's beginning.'_

Back at the bench, Anya listened to the melody of the music closely. Tears formed in her eyes as she felt the rush of nostalgia brush its way across her body. A small, tiny blue box twisted around in a circle inside of the box, as if it were dancing to the music. Stars and swirls were painted on the inside of the box, a few random planets drawn here and there.

A spaceship, she was sure of it.


	3. Brothers Grimm and the Wacky World

**This chapter took forever! Also, I changed the title of the story to something a bit more fitting. :) I'm excited for the direction of this story! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Regina peered over her book, watching as Emma paced the bedroom floor.

It had been only five hours since Finny had dropped Henry off and the mysterious aura had brushed over the whole town. Upon questioning the girl if she had felt the same thing that they had, Finny had only shook her head in confusion. She didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, except for the embarrassment of getting all excited.

"This isn't a good feeling, Regina. I don't know what this is, but-"

"But your white-knight senses are tingling and you feel the need to save the day, right?" Regina smiled, patting the open space beside her in the bed lightly. "Come to bed. We'll have an emergency town meeting tomorrow."

Emma stopped pacing and gave a slight huff before slowly making her way to the bed and crawling under the covers. Regina instantly cuddled into her side, her eyes lighting up in happiness. Emma tried her best to avert her gaze to Regina, but found it impossible.

"...get it all out, Emma." Regina sighed.

"Well," The blonde pouted. "I just don't understand why Finny didn't feel it too. It was hard to miss. It was like..."

"Like all the bad things that have ever happened in the world just decided to ban together and create a wave of desperation across Storybrooke."

"It hurt." Emma nodded, agreeing.

"The only person in Storybrooke who still obtains the power to do that is Rumpelstiltskin." Regina sighed.

"Do you think he really had something to do with this? It would make sense. If he did, then whatever spell he cast probably didn't affect the orphans. They aren't from the Storybook, after all."

"...Emma, I have something to admit." Regina closed her eyes slowly. "I'm pretty sure that they have something to do with the Storybook."

"What?!" Emma shot Regina a look, her eyes widening drastically. "I wanted them to be safe from this!"

"I checked the Storybook tonight after we put Henry to bed. Someone's started a new story in the book, but it isn't finished yet."

"No...I thought we were through with that stupid book!"

"We're not through until we're free. And we aren't. No one is allowed to leave Storybrooke without losing their memories. The only way we could tell if the orphans aren't affected is by..."

"Pushing them over the town line."

"And that could either make life easier for all of us...or destroy them."

"And depending on who they used to be in fairytale land, it could also destroy_ us_."

It was silent for a few moments, this information and realization sinking into both of their heads.

"...who wrote it?"

"I have no idea. Neither does Henry."

Emma sighed, looking down at Regina with a smile.

"No worries. We'll get through this. We always do."

Regina snuggled closer, allowing Emma to wrap her arms around her.

"Sleep?"

"Sleep. Night, 'Gina. Love you."

"Goodnight, Emma. Love you more."

* * *

_The inside of the castle was just as extravagant as the outside. Its high ceilings, winding staircases, and ornate furniture Yet, to me, it was cold and stuffy. It reminded me of a prison. Everything was just a little TOO perfect and nothing was familiar. Yet, this was- is -home. How can I deny something that I grew up with?_

_They led me to a room that I presumed to be my own. It was beautiful; white wood furniture adorning the room. A vanity table, a large bed with light green linen, a grand dresser, and a desk of some sort. Vines grew from the walls, beautiful red and white flowers sprouting from them._

_Roses. Yes, definitely roses._

_Those were familiar, somehow._

_"Do you remember anything?" Snow asked me, enthusiasm masking some emotion. One that I couldn't put my finger on._

_"Now, Snow, you know as well as I that it will take much more than the revealing of a room to bring back such important memories." That voice was new. It was kinder than the others and seemed to be much more genuine._

_"Oh, Felicity. I hope one day you will remember our family's caretaker," Snow spoke longingly as I turned, staring the new woman in the eyes._

_"Your Highness," The woman curtsied, her curly, thick ginger locks shifting to cover her kind face. "I am Alma Gans. I watched over you as you grew, teaching you what Snow White and King Charming were not able to."_

_I eyed the kind woman cautiously. My head gave a small nod and I found myself bowing in return. There was a twinkle in her eye, the shine of something mischievous. Almost as if she knew something that I did not._

_That wasn't far from the truth, now was it? She knew of everything that I did not._

_"Alma will come for you when it's time for supper. At that time, Anya will join her fellow knights in their quarters. You will not see her until supper is over." Snow informed, giving me one final hug before slipping over to my bedroom door._

_"It's quite nice to have you home."_

_Her voice was quiet and I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear it, so I pretended like I didn't._

_She exited, Alma following her._

_Leaving Anya and myself all alone._

* * *

_"Can you not just leave?!"_

_"No, Princess! It's my duty to protect you!"_

_"I'm pretty sure I can protect myself, Anya."_

_"That's what you said the last time. And look what happened then!"_

_"I can't even remember then, so it's not fair for you to hold that against me!"_

_Anya was silent for a long moment, her face falling into a brief despair. She glanced up at me, flashing a broken smile._

_"Princess...we used to get along so well. Why can't you trust me?"_

_It was my turn to be silent. I didn't trust Anya. I felt like she was lying. How was I to tell her that? Even if she meant nothing to me now, she must have meant something before I lost my memories. She has done nothing to hurt me so far and I didn't want to hurt her. But how could I avoid it? I lifted my head and our eyes met briefly. She flinched at the obvious darkness shining in my eyes. There was a knock on my bedroom door, another knight entering the room along with Alma. He bowed to me and turned to Anya._

_"Anya, it's time for supper. Lets go." He ordered, turning to leave the room once again._

_Anya glanced at me for a moment, a pleading look on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but only closed it and shook her head lightly. Quickly, she fled from the room._

_I don't feel like Princess Felicity. I don't think I was ever her at all._

_"Felicity, we didn't quite get a chance to speak. May we?"_

_I nodded quickly, allowing her to lead me to my bed, sitting beside of me gently._

_"You don't remember. But what if there's nothing to remember?"_

_My eyes widened. She was quite blunt._

_"W-What are you trying to tell me?"_

_"I can't specify, my love. All I can say is that, within the next few weeks, you will meet several kids of your own age. Each of them will be able to tell you a little about yourself, but only if you help them in return."_

_"And that will help me remember?"_

_Alma laughed._

_"Love, try to think out of the box, if you will! Imagine that nothing here is real and everything is fake."_

_"Oh." I looked down, my brows furrowing._

_"And, please, don't be hostile towards Anya. She's in your shoes. Also, the knight that came in to relieve her- trust him. He's one of my greatest allies. Nathaniel is his name. He is one of the realest things in this entire palace, other than myself."_

_"So...trust no one except for you and Nathaniel?"_

_"Yes. Even Queen Snow and her husband. They...they know what they're doing. But they have no choice in the matter. Anything that they tell you is a lie. But don't let your distrust show. That will only do more to hurt you."_

_Alma leaned forward, grabbing me by my shoulders. Her expression was stoic and serious, her eyes finding mine._

_"And, no matter what, do not trust-"_

_Suddenly, a loud beating came from the bedroom door. They flew open to reveal a disheveled knight, his hair spiky and his eyes a deep brown._

_"Alma! The king and queen are waiting on you!" He exclaimed, an accent thick in his voice._

_Alma pulled away, smirking._

_"You can trust this skinny strip of an idiot, too."_

* * *

_Dinner was as awkward for me as I had imagined it was going to be. But, keywords: for me._

_King Charming avoided all awkwardness by trying to fill in all the gaps in my memories. He told me of times when I was a child up to my very last birthday (Apparently, I'm fifteen. Though my birthday is in a week, Snow tells me). There are stories of temper tantrums and sickeningly sweet moments between the three of us. The stories are supposed to benefit me but, to be honest, it only makes me want to leave this place as soon as possible._

_But I can't leave. Because this is home and I will forever be accompanied by my- her -knight._

_"Are we the only people of royalty in this castle?" I ask steadily, trying to shake the shyness from my voice._

_"No, there's one other. She is the one who found you in the woods outside of the castle. You both get along quite well. You called her 'Coco' as a child, but you've grown accustomed to her real name since the age of nine." Snow informed, wiping at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Right now, she's off to another kingdom, trying to form...alliances."_

_"Oh? Is she of relation to yourself?"_

_"She's my step-great-grandmother. Or, she almost was, if it hadn't been for her pesky daughter refusing to marry my father. Claimed to love another, Regina did." Snow shook her head disappointedly._

_Regina. Familiar._

_"What is her name? Well, the one that I now call her, that is."_

_"Cora."_

* * *

A woman crept up to Snow's door silently, standing for a few moments before beating her fist on it lightly. She scowled as she noticed the light flicker from the crack at the bottom of the door. The scowl left her face as quickly as it had disappeared and replaced itself with a soft smile.

"Cora," Snow gasped as she opened the door. Out of anyone, she hadn't expected that woman to be standing there.

"Ah, little Snow White. Look at how much you've grown!" Cora exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"No, Cora. Go back to Fairytale Land. Just leave us be."

"Why, Snow, you don't even know what I'm here about!"

Charming walked to the door, trying to see who had decided to visit at such a late hour.

In the end, he wished he hadn't. He had never seen the woman in person, though he had heard about her briefly from Snow. What little she told him spoke volumes of the horrible person Cora truly was.

"Oh, you must be Prince Charming!" Cora gasped, staring up at him. "How handsome you are!"

"King. King Charming." He cleared his throat, looking away from her.

"No reason to be afraid, you two. I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"I'm not afraid of anyone. Especially you." Snow frowned, hissing her words.

Cora smirked, ignoring her.

"Now, I'm not expecting to be invited inside, but I'm here to tell you about a little plot I have...for revenge."

"Against who?!"

Cora's smirk turned into a deep smile, her eyes darkening.

"My daughter. Regina."

"We could never! Not when-" Snow began. Unfortunately, Cora interrupted her.

"Not when your own daughter is so madly in love with her?" Cora tsk'd, shaking her head slowly. "You know you still feel vengeance for my daughter. Luckily, so do I. Do you not want your daughter back? She has succumbed for evil. She fell for your worst enemy, completely dishonoring the Charming name! Do not tell me you have no spite for Regina."

Snow was quiet once again, dropping her eyes to look at the ground.

"We've come to terms with who Emma fell in love with. It wasn't her choice." The black haired woman said finally, though there was a waver in her voice that just didn't sit right.

"Well, if you don't want to settle the score with Regina..." Cora turned around, walking away from the door slowly.

"Wait!" Charming shouted, trying to get Cora's attention. "Just come back for a moment."

"Charming!" Mary Margret gasped. "We are not siding with her!"

"Listen, Snow. This is a chance to get revenge on Regina for all that she has done to us. Do you not wish for that?"

"Every day." Snow gulped, frowning. "But that doesn't mean I would act upon it. There are many things that she has done wrong, yes, but I have done many things wrong too."

"Like what?" Charming asked, growing ill.

"Telling Cora about Daniel, Regina's love. If I hadn't told her..." Snow spoke of Cora as if the woman wasn't even standing in front of her. Cora suppressed a scoff.

"I still would've killed him. It's quite simple, Child. I already knew about Daniel and Regina. I was only testing you." Cora smiled.

"Wait- you already knew?!"

"Of course. I knew of everything that went on in those stables. Ripping them apart was always my plan, but I decided to wait it out...to test your loyalty."

"So...he would've died anyway. Nothing would've changed."

"Snow, let me remind you. Regina is evil. Once you become evil, regardless of any redemption that you go through, that evil remains."

"See, Snow? Regina is still evil."

The black haired woman was quiet for a long moment before responding.

"...No. I can't do it."

Suddenly, with a flick of Cora's wrist, Charming and Snow flew backwards, falling deeper into the house.

"If you do not help me," Cora pulled a heart from the bag hidden beneath her layers of dress. "Then someone must die."

"Who's heart is that!?" Snow exclaimed, standing to try and snatch it back from Cora.

"Oh, who knows. Perhaps it belongs to that wolf. Maybe it belongs to one of those orphans. Even worse, perhaps it's Henry's." Cora shot Snow a sidewards glance. "I guess we'll have to find out, now won't we?"

Cora gripped the heart tighter and tighter, until-

"Stop!" Snow shouted, reaching out to the woman. Her grip released.

"W-we'll...we'll help you. Just, please, don't kill Henry. And at least let Emma love Regina to the very end. Evil or not, true love cannot be denied."

Cora cackled, stuffing the heart back into the confines of her several layers of dress.

"And that's where we differ, Snow. No one truly needs love. But, yes. I'll agree with your terms. Regina and Emma are meant for a happily ever after in the end. That's the way it was written. And who can mess with the words of the author?"

Charming nodded slowly and Snow looked down.

"Do you need a place to hide?"

"Thank you, Charming. But I have my own means of living. I'll be back tomorrow night to speak specifics."

Cora disappeared from their sight, a cloud of black smoke surrounding her.

"I...I hope we did the right thing." Snow whispered, turning to embrace her husband.

"I'm certain we did. Don't worry, Snow. Everything will be alright," Charming smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around her as he led her back into the house.

A cat scurried off into the darkness of the night, returning to the orphanage quickly.

_'It's starting sooner than I thought. Where is that pesky rabbit?'_

* * *

Those dreams. They were getting worse.

Finny yawned as she walked sluggishly to the diner, rubbing her eyes fervently.

"Are you sure you're alright, Finn?" Anya asked, looking down at the shorter girl.

"Yeah, Anya. I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"Yeah. Every night since we've moved here, you've had to be woken up because of nightmares. No wonder why you're sleepy. _You're not getting any sleep_."

Finny shook her head, petting Jade tenderly. Anya noticed that even the cat seemed tired.

"I promise I'm getting sleep, Anya. And they're not nightmares. They're just dreams."

"Yeah, sure. Dreams that wake you up _sobbing_."

"I just..." Finny shook her head, dropping her eyes to the cat that had fallen asleep in her arms.

"We can drop it if you want, Finn. No biggie." Anya said, staring at Finny through the corners of her eyes.

"Thanks." Finny muttered.

Anya frowned.

_'What's up with her?'_

Jefferson watched them as they walked down the street, his eyes glued to the cat in Finny's hands.

* * *

Finny plopped down on Henry's castle, laying out so she was staring at the sky.

Lately, even as she daydreamed, all she could think about were those stupid dreams. Every time she closed her eyes, the dream continued where it had left off. At first, she just dealt with it. But things had gotten worse. Sleeping was meant for resting. Yet, for the past week, she felt like the more she slept, the more tired she became.

So, basically, she could sleep but she'd only wake up deathly tired. But if she didn't sleep, the results would be worse.

Her wrist twitched.

"Oh, Finny!" She heard Henry exclaim from the base of the castle.

"Hey, Henry." Finny didn't look at him.

"Is this your cat?"

Emma.

Finny shot up, watching as Jade rubbed up against Emma's leg affectionately.

"Y-yeah. Sorry." Finny spoke quietly, calling for her cat. Jade looked up, meowing quietly, and hopped up into Finny's lap.

"She's cute. Where did you find her?" Emma asked, stepping forward to pet Jade.

"She found me, more like. Just appeared on the porch." Finny yawned.

Emma's eyebrow rose.

"You tired?"

Finny nodded.

"Maybe you should try going to bed earlier, Kid."

_'Doubt it.'_

But, instead of saying that, Finny only nodded, shrugging.

Emma stared at the girl, noticing the dark bags under her eyes. They weren't there the day before and Emma doubted that Finny had collected such an abundance of bags in one night. The sheriff's face scrunched up in worry. Henry glanced between the two of them silently. They held each other's gaze, though Finny didn't look like she was really looking at Emma. She looked dazed, as if she weren't quite sure what she was staring at. Suddenly, she broke the gaze, her head turning towards him.

"Henry. You said something about completing that book, right? Mind if I start now? It'll help me get my mind off some things and help you finish that book." Finny winked.

Henry's face erupted into a wide smile and he immediately pulled the book from his bag.

"Here, Finny!"

Emma stepped away, trying to erase the worry off of her face.

"Listen, Finn. We're holding a town hall meeting around five. Can you stop by the diner and tell Alma and the others? I don't really have the time right now. I'm taking Henry to Sn-my mom's house."

"Sure. I can do that." Finny agreed, smiling softly.

"Oh, and," Emma spoke excitedly. "If you want, you can come over after the meeting tonight. It ends at six, so just be at our house a little afterwards. We want you to have dinner with us and _I_, personally, want to see how good you are at running red lights and smashing into the side of buildings."

Finny laughed, nodding.

"I'll come by. It'll be fun. I just hope..." She trailed off, standing and clutching the book in her arms. "I'll be there." She gave Emma a wide smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

_'Familiar'_

"Oh, I'll take Jade with me to Mary Margret's so you can actually get into the diner!" Henry exclaimed, picking the cat up. "They love animals but, unfortunately, the rest of the town doesn't exactly agree with them being near the food."

Emma laughed lightly at how ironic that was.

"Sure, why not. I'll just pick her up from your house when I come by." She shrugged nonchalantly, waving at the two as they started to walk away.

_'I need to write.'_

* * *

Beauty and the Beast.

It had been one of her favorites as a child. The idea of a beautiful lady falling in love with, not only a hideous beast, but a horrid man, was interesting. To think that someone could have that much compassion and didn't have to judge based on the outside was amazing.

You didn't see it happen as often in real life.

But, as she read through the pages that gave the story of Beauty and the Beast, Finny could only say one thing:

It wasn't appealing in the slightest. It seemed to go far into the beast's story but it didn't tell much about Belle. Not to mention, they threw the role of the beast to Rumpelstiltskin, a man who was no monster. He was a man who created monsters. A man who created them and never stood up to the consequences of his actions. A coward, to say the least. Plus, he threw Belle away for fear of losing his power. He never wanted Belle to help him. He never wanted to_ change._

You can't have your cake and eat it, too, Rumple.

Finny narrowed her eyes. The Beauty deserved much more. A beast that she could actually help; one that actually _wanted_ to be helped.

Finny flipped through a few more stories, reading over them. She knew all of them by heart, the corners of her mouth falling down as she looked over the printed words and faceless pictures.

_'Red Riding Hood'_

Suddenly, with a flick of her wrist, Finny started writing.

* * *

"Thanks for watching him, mom."

Snow was more than happy to watch her grandson. She just had to get him back home before Cora showed up...

"Do you want me to drop him off at Regina's before the town meeting? Surely he doesn't want to go and sit through that..."

"Nope, too boring." Henry scrunched up his nose.

"Yeah, that's fine." Emma nodded, smiling at her mother.

"Hey, that cat...is it the one that the orphan girl was trying to find a home for?"

"Yeah, her name's Finny. She decided to keep her. The cat's name is Jade."

Snow knew that's probably where she had last seen the cat, but she couldn't shake the lingering feeling that she had seen it after that, possibly wandering the streets? The cat tilted its head slightly at her lingering gaze.

"So, what's Regina bringing up in this meeting?"

"Well, of course, I'm sure you felt that weird...sensation yesterday?" Snow nodded and Emma continued. "Well, that's coming up. And also, Mr. Gold skipped town, so we're assuming it had something to do with him."

Snow gasped.

"He...he left Storybrooke?!"

"Yup, apparently so. Either that or he's decided to start living in the woods. We're going to see if Belle knows of his whereabouts. Though, I doubt she'll know. So that'll be coming up at the meeting." Emma informed, frowning.

"Well, we all know Rumpelstiltskin..." Snow sighed, her face falling. "Listen, Emma..."

"Yeah?"

"About...Regina..."

Emma sighed, shaking her head.

"Listen, Mom. We've already talked about this. Actually, this is old news. Why is this being brought back up? It doesn't need to be."

"Well, there are new circumstances."

"New circumstances? Listen, I don't even want to know." Emma frowned, making her way to the front door. "See you later, Snow."

"Emma! Look." Snow rushed forward, grabbing Emma's wrist. "I can't explain anything. It would...I'm not supposed to."

She looked down, taking a deep breath.

"Just...Emma. Just be careful."

Emma turned around, looking at her mother. Confusion and anger spread across her features, but she only nodded in response before exiting the apartment.

Jade hopped from Henry's arms, slowly sashaying up to Mary Margret. The cat purred, rubbing her back against the woman's leg. Henry smiled despite witnessing that adult's conversation.

He didn't want to be reminded of who his mother used to be.

* * *

"I can't believe Gold up and left Storybrooke!" Ruby shouted, leaning against the diner's counter. "He didn't even tell Belle where he was going!"

"Must not take the relationship that seriously." Anya sighed, twirling the straw around in her iced tea. Her eyes shifted to the shape of Finny, who sat beside of her. The girl's right hand was frantically writing, almost as if her life depended on it. And maybe it does. Anya decided not to ask what she was writing. Some things were meant to stay secret. Though she could make out Finny's messy handwriting on the paper.

"Think of it this way, Rubes. This is your chance to move in for the kill." Anya winked lazily, flashing a wide grin.

"If only you knew, Anya." Ruby narrowed her eyes, looking towards the clock. "Hey, Finny, you said that the meeting was at five today, right?"

"Yeah. That's what Emma said." Finny spoke quickly, not even managing to look up from the piece of paper in front of her.

And, thus, Anya's curiosity got the best of her.

"Finn, what are you doing over there, anyways?"

"Nothing much. Just writing."

"Oh."

Both Anya and Ruby stared at her for a few seconds, watching her hand flutter from line to line.

"So...you gonna tell us what you're writing or what?"

Finny stopped writing, closing her book quickly. She glanced at the two who were now closer to her shoulder, peering over it.

"It's nothing. Just a little...change that I'm thinking of making. I have to get Henry's approval though."

"Cool." Anya sighed, annoyed at the lack of trust.

That's how it had been lately. She was slowly losing Finny...and she couldn't figure out why.

Ruby glanced between the two, worry creasing on her brows.

"Anyways...it's about five. We ought to get going. You coming, Finny?"

"No, I think I'll just...I don't really want to go. I think...I think I'm just going to head on home. See you guys later."

Finny slipped from the stool, tenderly grabbing her papers and Henry's book. Ruby and Anya watched her leave, a silence crossing over the diner as she walked out of the door.

"Alright, Anya. What's wrong with you two? Lovers spat?" Ruby smirked, her hands on her hips.

Anya sighed, looking away from Finny's retreating form.

"I love Finny, Ruby. Just not like that. She's been my best friend for as long as I can remember." Anya shrugged. "I just feel like I'm losing her. She won't tell me anything."

"What's there to tell? You guys live together."

"...well, her dreams...nightmares, more like. I have to wake her up every night because she's either sobbing or screaming or whimpering in her sleep. It awoke Alma once. Since she didn't know the dreams were reoccurring, she wasn't too worried. But...I have to share a room with Finny. And I know what's going on."

This caught Ruby's attention, the woman standing straighter as she listened.

"Does Finny recall her dreams?"

Anya nodded slowly.

"Yeah. She claims she does. Though she won't tell me what goes on in them. She used to tell me everything. I used to be able to read her like an open book. Now I can't even figure out what's going on in that fucking head of hers." Ruby watched Anya hiss those words, her face contorting in anger.

"Perhaps the book has closed. I'm sure she has her reasons, Anya." The older woman spoke gently, wrapping her arm around Anya's shoulders and leading her out of the diner.

"Yeah, I guess. It isn't like Finny to do something like this on purpose. I just want her to remember that she can trust me. I could never hurt her. And now she's writing again. She hasn't attempted to write anything since the week she first arrived at the coop. After that, she never wrote anything serious."

"Why's that? Does she not like to write?"

"Well, it's difficult to explain. She admitted to me once that she longed to be an author, but she isn't able to be one. Before she came to the orphanage, there was a tragic accident and she lost the ability to use her left arm. Unfortunately, that's her dominant hand. After months of rehabilitation programs and learning, she was able to use her left arm again. But she still wasn't able to write as well as she used to, before the accident. Even when she tried to type, her left hand just wasn't having too much of it."

"She also loved to draw, but that's even worse than writing, so she lost that ability as well. The book Henry gave her to complete...it must be pretty important to her. Because now she's trying to use her right hand. And that's almost like starting over."

"That's horrible." Ruby frowned, chewing her bottom lip. "I wish I could help her."

"That's how I feel." Anya nodded silently. "I don't want her to have to go through anything like that ever again. I want her to realize that she's safe...and that I'll protect her."

Ruby smirked.

"Sounds like love to me."

* * *

Finny flounced onto the couch, staring blankly at the wall in front of her.

She should've gone to that town meeting. She should tell Anya about her dreams. She should tell Henry the truth about the book. She should tell Alma the truth about her family's death.

But, at the same time, she was a new resident and didn't belong at any town meeting. Her dreams would only hurt Anya and lead to more distrust. Henry probably wouldn't believe her about the book; plus, how else would he find out about the truth? And Alma probably already knew.

Alma knew _everything._

It had all started when she had her biggest fight with her best friend. Life after that...it fell off course. All the people she loved slowly, one by one, turned against her. They betrayed her in every way possible. Even her own mother, who claimed to love her without reason. Who claimed to love her regardless of what she was or the decisions that she would make.

Her mother who claimed that she would always be there for her, only to turn her back when she was most needed.

What hurt the most, however, was being able to think such horrible things and not even feel any emotion about them. She couldn't remember the last time she cried, let alone mourned for her family.

That was enough thinking for today.

She glanced at the clock, frowning at how early it was. Another hour until she was to be at Henry's house. Another hour until she had the same feeling of familiarity again.

The feeling of familiarity sure was happening a lot in this town.

"Hey, Finny." Sarah spoke excitedly, rushing down the stairs clumsily. "Are you going to the town meeting?"

Finny shook her head quickly, her face turning red. She had hoped that no one would be home.

"How do you feel about exploring the woods? Lola and I were just about to go. Come with us!"

Finny now saw Lola climbing down the stairs behind Sarah, her face only a little less excited as the blonde's.

After a moment's consideration, Finny nodded, standing quickly.

"Good!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing her coat. "Lets skedaddle then! Adventure waits for no one, as far as I'm concerned."

"Hold on, Sarah. I have to get my shoes!" Lola exclaimed, calling out after the girl.

But Sarah was already out the door.

* * *

Mr. Gold entered the tall building quickly, glancing around for a reception desk.

"Hello there. I'm Mr. Gold and I have an appointment." He spoke charmingly, a crooked smile working its way upon his face.

The receptionist's fingers clacked around on her computer for a few moments, solidifying Gold's words.

"I see. Go on in. They're expecting you."

"Thank you." Gold gave another smile, turning to head for the door behind the receptionist.

He gripped the book under his arm tightly.

This was something that he wasn't supposed to do. This was the biggest rule over all of the rules. And who was he to challenge the creator?

As he walked through the large wooden doors, he felt a sense of power rush through his body. Once man sat at a desk, the other pacing the room. Gold smirked, glad that he was still able to get this reaction out of people.

"You," The man pacing the room stopped, glaring at Gold as the door shut behind him. "You were never supposed to come back."

"And you, both of you, were supposed to hold onto your end of the deal." Gold smiled. "But ya didn't, did ya?"

Both men were silent.

"Sit, Rumpelstiltskin. We need to discuss this." The more composed man who was sitting at the desk directed.

"Honestly, there's nothing to discuss."

But Gold sat down anyhow.

"You really need to leave."

"And you really need to age." Gold placed his finger on his chin in thought. "Oh wait. If you aged, you'd both turn to dust itself."

"...alright, Rumple. We did what you asked us to. We-"

"No, you didn't." Gold leaned forward, slamming the book on the desk.

"If you did your jobs, then why is everything out of order?! Why are they already in Storybrooke? The rabbit isn't even there yet. It's out of order, William!" Gold exclaimed, shooting a look to the man, William, who sat behind his desk.

"This is not something that we can help. Even you must remember that the rabbit is never on time. Even with our prodding, that animal would be late. This is its personality is, remember? _This is how its character was written_."

"I told you to be in Storybrooke with that stupid rabbit the moment the curse was broken. That was the final part of our deal. After that, you'd both be free. But you couldn't even do that."

"Listen. This wasn't our fault-"

"Yes it was, Jakob. It is all your fault. And, now, I'm losing my love to an_ actual_ beast! _A wolf_!"

"Wow, Rumple. I didn't think it got any worse than you." Jakob cackled, crossing his arms.

And, suddenly, Gold was across the room, shoving Jakob against the wall and gripping his collar.

"The book is _changing_, Jakob! The stories are being changed back into their original forms! All because you couldn't keep up your end of the deal. In only a matter of time, little miss Felicity herself will change the story of the Grimm brothers. I assure you that you'll be in her dreams soon enough. And, after that, depending on how she liked you, you'll either get to stay _in_...or be written _out_!"

"W-wait," William rushed over to his brother, peeling Gold off of him. "The author has already arrived? Does she remember?"

"Yes, she has arrived. Why do you think I'm here? The two of you mean nothing to me. I could care less about you. But you're messing up the time line. And not only does this affect me badly, but it also jeopardizes your lives. Lets keep that in perspective, shall we?"

Jakob instantly straighted out his shirt, clearing his throat. William quickly made his way back over to his desk, grabbing a box.

"Alright, Rumple. I understand now. Lets get going. We're to find the rabbit, correct?"

Gold smirked.

"Yes. Though, I assure you, it won't be so hard to find. We just need to get it to Storybrooke before Cora strikes."

William straightened up.

"You never spoke of her. She's in Storybrooke? I thought she was pushed into Wacky world."

"She's a smart woman, William. And you don't have to worry about her. That heart of yours isn't exactly with you at the moment. That was traded away quite some time ago, now wasn't it?"

"We will not speak of that." Jakob snapped, clenching his fists as he walked towards the door.

"No. I suppose there isn't any reason to speak of something that no longer exists. It's merely a waste of words."

William glanced at the older man, shaking his head slightly.

"We don't regret anything."

"I never said you did, William. The only thing either of you had to live for was each other. And when it all boils down to it, that ends up being lonely company, does it not?"

William opened his mouth to reply, only to find himself snapping it closed.

"...off we go."

"Indeed."

* * *

Finny walked along the sidewalk, rubbing at her eyes. The woods were as boring as they were cracked out to be and the only thing that seemed even remotely interesting was that unfinished little building in the woods. Of course Sarah wanted to explore that as well, which only meant going inside of it. That's when Finny decided to take her leave. There was something about that little room that felt off, and if there was anything waiting for them inside, she'd rather not get caught up with it.

She walked quickly and diligently, managing to keep her head low enough to avoid catching people's stares.

That is, until she stepped in front of someone. More like, he stepped out in front of her.

"Oh, sorry." He muttered, turning to look at her.

"It's alright." She mumbled, her hand immediately finding her bracelets.

"Hey! You're the one with that cat, right?"

This caused Finny to look up, into the eyes of a total stranger.

"Y-yeah,"

The man smiled wanly.

"She's a lovely cat. Just, let me warn you, she's also a trickster. Chances are, one day, she'll run off and never come back. I used to leave out food for her all the time. I had once wished that I could've taken her in, but she just never seemed like that type of cat. If you can get her to be domesticated, good for you. But I never could." He held out his hand. "Jefferson,"

"Finny." The girl slipped her hand into Jefferson's, shaking it quickly.

"Oh, and this is my daughter, Grace."

"H-hi, Grace." Finny smiled down at the younger girl. "I'm Finny."

"That's a funny name." Grace giggled. "But you can call me Gracie. I prefer that over Grace."

"Yeah, my name is quite funny." Finny smiled.

"Well, we ought to get going, Finny. It was nice meeting you." Jefferson gave a nod, placing his hand on the small of Grace's back, leading her as they walked away.

_'Alright. Now, lets hurry and get to Henry's. I don't wanna be late...'_

Finny jogged off, not noticing as Jefferson turned to stare at her as she did.

"...August is going to love this."

* * *

"Finny!" Henry exclaimed, shooting into her arms before she even had a chance to step onto the porch. "I'm glad you came!"

"Well...I hope I wasn't late..."

"Of course you weren't. Mom just said that dinner's going to be finished cooking in ten minutes. You're right on time!" He grabbed her hand, leading her inside. Once inside, Finny couldn't help but blink in wonder.

It was quite a big house for only three people.

"Mom! Emma! Finny's here!" Henry shouted.

Finny could hear the sounds of pots sizzling and slight cursing from the kitchen.

"Emma..." She heard Regina sigh. Suddenly, the woman was walking through the corridor, an apron around her body and a wide smile plastered on her face.

"Finny! I noticed you weren't at the meeting today. Why didn't you come?"

"I figured that...ya know...you guys wouldn't want a bunch of orphans swamping your town hall. Sarah and Lola stayed behind too."

"Actually, the only orphans who came were Anya, Cosette, Jack, and Gus. Ishai wasn't there, either." Regina's eyebrow quirked upwards.

"Oh, well, sometimes he just...leaves. He always come back. He was on the streets when Alma found him. It's something...familiar for him. Safe." Finny explained. "We all have things that we do or places that we can rely on to make us feel safe. Cosette has her tutu, Jack has Gus and Gus has Jack, Sarah has her hairbrush, and Lola...well, she values her legs. Oh, and Anya has Alma."

"What about you?" Henry asked suddenly.

"Oh," Finny hesitated for a moment. "I don't have one."

"Well," Emma interjected, walking through the corridor. "We'll just have to find you one, now won't we?"

"Hey, Finn." She ruffled Finny's hair, holding up a bandaged finger. "I was trying to help 'Gina cook, but I ended up cutting my finger."

"And this is why we leave the cooking to me." Regina spoke sarcastically, smiling at Emma.

"Hey! I'm a good cook. ...Most of the time, anyway." Emma gave a crooked smile.

"Yeah, my favorite is her runny eggs and burnt toast." Henry laughed.

"I hope your finger's alright..." Finny glanced at it before smiling along with the rest of them. "But I suppose I'll have to try your food, if it's so famous. Burnt or not."

"And I'll make sure you get to."

* * *

"So, you took a chainsaw to her apple tree?!" Finny exclaimed, crying out in laughter.

"Yup! I took that chainsaw and completely whacked off part of the tree."

"It was the first time I felt something for her. Though, unfortunately, it wasn't quite reciprocated." Regina smiled.

"It took a little longer for me to realize that I was in love with her." Emma crinkled her nose.

"That's hilarious! They do say that there's a thin line between love and hate, after all."

Regina had fixed lasagna, much to Finny's excitement. It had been delicious. But now, they were sitting in the lounge, chatting on the couch while Henry set up the game system. Jade relaxed on Regina's lap, purring softly as the woman ran her fingers through the cat's fluffy fur.

"I see you like Jade. And she likes you too." Finny smiled, wringing her hands in her lap.

"Now, I'm no Snow White," This was obviously an inside joke between the two. Finny noticed them glance at each other, smirking. Emma playfully elbowed Regina's arm. "But I do like cats."

Jade snuggled deeper into Regina's lap, almost as if she understood the woman.

"OK, it's hooked up and ready to be played!" Henry exclaimed, walking over with three remote controllers.

"You're not playing?" Emma glanced at Regina, her brows furrowed.

"Oh, no. I'm horrible at video games. They aren't really my thing."

Emma shrugged.

"Oh well. Greater chance that I'll beat Finny."

"Yeah, I doubt it." Finny scoffed, gripping her controller excitedly.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm the best, you guys." Henry smirked, raising a brow as he looked at the both of them.

Emma reached out, ruffling his hair.

"I'm sure you are, Kid. But I have had more experience, after all."

"But Emma, you've never had anyone to play with. So you don't know how to win against other people."

"That's right, I guess. But multi-player is pretty Mickey Mouse.. Plus, if that were true, wouldn't it apply to you as well?"

"True. Finny, do you have experience?"

"Yeah, actually. My sister and I used to play-" Finny stopped mid sentence, blinking. She took a deep breath. "We used to play all the time."

"Oh. I didn't know you that you have a sister. How old is she?" Henry asked, staring at Finny as he waited for the game screen to finish loading.

"She was ten. Would've been eleven in December." Finny gave a half smile, her gaze fixed to the television screen. Regina noticed the 'was'.

Past tense.

"My age."

Finny nodded slowly.

"Yup. She was exactly like you."

"What happened to her?" Henry asked, deciding not to drop the subject. Emma glanced at Regina worriedly.

"Now, Henry, that isn't something you ask-"

"No, Regina, it's OK." Finny smiled, dropping her gaze back to Henry.

"See, Henry, my sister had her flaws. Yet, I still loved her. But, one day, my mother had to leave. And, of course, she took my sister with her. Unfortunately, she told me that I wasn't allowed to come with them...not just yet, anyways. So that's what happened to her. I'll see her again one day, I'm sure of it, but I just don't think that it'll be anytime soon." She reached out, ruffling Henry's hair. "So that's why we have to become really good friends, OK? It gets a little lonely, not having a younger sibling to look after."

"I'll just have to step up to the plate." Henry smiled up at her, eyes shining. "Anyways, who's ready to get their butts beat at Mario Cart?!"

Emma whooped, throwing her arm into the air.

"I am!"

Finny smiled tenderly. If anything, she knew that she was not getting beaten today. Regina stared at her silently, her admiration for the young girl growing stronger.

All she had to do was say that her sister was dead.

* * *

"Cora-! You came back."

"Did you think I wouldn't show?"

Snow pushed Cora inside of the apartment, quickly closing the door behind her. Cora sat on a couch, her hands falling into her lap properly.

"Where's Charming?" She asked, looking around curiously.

"He should be home in about ten minutes." Snow spoke nervously, wringing her hands on the apron tied around her waist. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water. It's been a long day." Cora sighed, her eyes following Snow as she walked into the kitchen.

Snow was sure that those ten minutes were as long as Cora's day. In those minutes, the woman actually tried to catch up to Snow, asking about Emma and life in Storybrooke. It was only natural that when James walked through the front door, Snow ran into his arms.

"Oh, Cora. You're here." He nodded towards the woman on the couch, laying his coat on the arm of a chair.

"Yes. I was waiting for both of you to get home so I could tell the specifics of our plan. But it seems like I got here a bit too early, so Snow and I were just catching up."

"Oh. Well, thank you for waiting."

Cora smiled grimly.

"You're quite welcome."

Snow scoffed.

"Lets just get on with it, shall we? I already hate that we have to do this."

Cora paused a moment before starting.

"The root of this plan has to do with the orphans. They are the key to this. If you remember that ominous feeling that overcame you yesterday, that was because the eldest orphan opened the box of hope and despair. That box was only supposed to be opened after all the keys had fallen into place. Thus, since the orphans are they keys, the box was only to be opened after the orphans had remembered their true identities."

Cora sipped her water, soothing her throat.

"But the events are out of order. The only way for Regina to suffer is to intensify the curse that the box has placed over the town. The box is of hope and despair. As of yesterday, the ability to leave town has been opened. That is the hope. The despair, however, is the new curse that's been placed over the town."

"And that is?"

"The author of the book. Whoever this person is, they've returned. And, with the despair, anything that they write will come true. That is their power, whether they realize it or not."

"How does this make Regina suffer?"

"Well, that's not quite the reason. That's part of the second stage of the plan, which I will address at a later date.. The first part, however, is to get each orphan to remember. Oh, and, I almost forgot. There is one other thing."

Cora leaned forward, frowning.

"The orphans are the key, yet only when they remember. But there are certain events that will unlock their memories. We have to find a few other key elements. The Cheshire Cat, the Courage-less lion, the one with no heart, the one who doesn't know right from wrong, the Duchess, the March Hare, and that pesky White Rabbit."

"And those are humans...?"

"Yes. And, no worries. The two of you will remember over time. This quest will be quite easy, I assure you. Regardless of how difficult it truly sounds."

"Wait. What is the second stage of the plan?" Snow asked, her voice shaky.

"Well...we must kill them. All of the keys. And, after they are dead, we will all get the happy ending that we very much deserve."

"Kill the orphans?! But Henry's so attached to that Finny girl... I thought we agreed that Henry wouldn't get affected by this!"

"We agreed that the child wouldn't die. And he won't. But I can't help if he gets attached to a key element of this plot. It might be better that way, actually."

"And why is that?! So you can get better satisfaction as you tear his only friend away from him?!"

"No, my dear. This way, Regina can get close to her. And Regina...well, after that, Regina can remember."

Cora smirked.

_And then, I'll get my revenge._

* * *

**Hopefully I can give you guys a description of Cora's revenge when I sort it all out. There's a lot of thought going to be placed into this story, and so my brain really hurts. But that's ok. Because it's all worth it! :D  
Also, if anyone's interested (Though I doubt you are) and you're a fan of the show 'Reba', I'm thinking about writing some one-shots of Barbara Jean/Reba Femslash. Because I ship them, OK? And there just isn't enough fanfiction of those two together... :/**

**Anyways, way off topic. Sorry. I hope you enjoyed it~! :D**


	4. White Magic

**Sorry that this took so long to upload, those of you who are actually listening. It took a while to write, given what all I wanted to put in here. XD This chapter introduces some new characters, one in Storybrooke and a handful in FTL. I hope you like it!**_  
_

* * *

_I stare up at the ceiling, my eyes tracing the patterns painted on it. They were faded, almost nonexistent. Words in a language much too foreign for me to understand, swirls and stars trailing around them. I desperately wished for my eyes to feel heavy, but I knew that they wouldn't. It didn't feel right, trying to sleep in this room. It was almost as foreign as the words. _

_Moonlight poured through the silky curtains of the open entrance to the balcony. I noticed this as I sat up in the plush bed, carefully lifting my legs over to touch the ground. Standing, I walked towards the balcony and brushed through the curtains, entranced by the light of the moon. High up on the balcony, I finally noticed a tall tower across the courtyard. It was boarded up, as if no one was allowed in. _

_Or even out._

_Disregarding it for now, I glanced past it, looking off over the ocean towards the mountains in the distance. _

_Alma's words constantly echoed in my head, even all throughout supper. I was overjoyed that Cora hadn't shown up for the meal, but it only made me all the more worried of her arrival. If I wasn't able to trust anyone at this palace, did that also mean Cora? Or was she safe, like Alma or even Anya?_

_If only Alma had gotten the chance to finish what she was trying to say. _

_Taking one last glance at the land beyond the castle, I could've sworn I saw a far-away tower peeking over the mountaintops. For a moment, I felt a sick, desperate longing. Tears almost threatened to prick my eyes before I turned and fled the balcony. _

_I'd make sure to ask Alma about the tower next time we got the chance to talk. Suddenly, I felt tired._

* * *

_Blonde hair, blue eyes, wide. They stared down at me, shining with tears. Happiness. They were happy tears, I could tell. But they also seemed to be brimmed with sadness. Why? She rocked me in her arms, smiling widely. Pure joy, yet it was shadowed with disdain. I didn't want her to feel this way. I only wanted her to be happy. But, who was she?_

_Her lips moved, a word falling from them, but I wasn't quite sure what they were saying._

_Hello, perhaps? Hi there?_

_I reached up, closing my fingers around a lock of her hair. Her face melted._

_Suddenly, the woman looked away. Perhaps she was talking to someone else, but her lips weren't moving. Instead, she nodded, passing me to another person and rushing away._

_This person looked much different. Dark brown hair, brown doe eyes. Such a kind, yet stern face. A face that you could stare at for ages, but never get tired of._

_She looked indifferent, but the same shining over came her eyes, just like the other woman. She smiled at me, cooing. I reached up, grabbing at the mysterious scar above her upper lip. She gently kissed my hand in return, her grip on me tightening. _

_A lone, fat tear trailed down her cheek, her face twisting into sadness. I felt her sadness, her pain. My heart ached for her, this woman whom I didn't even know. _

_'I love you'_

_Her lips didn't move; her mouth didn't open. Yet I heard it. I heard it as clear as day._

_As quickly as I had been put into her arms, I was passed to someone else. His arms were tight and careful. He was tense, yet loving. _

_Brown hair, green eyes, wide. Just like the blonde haired woman's. He was overjoyed to see me, but only for a split second. After that split second, he started running, holding me tighter. After he reached a wide staircase, he stopped, hesitating._

_A growl filled my ears, coming from beside the boy. He glanced at the noise, carefully climbing on top of it._

_Everything else was a blur. Quite literally. Whatever we were riding on was moving quite fast, practically flying down the stairs. And beyond the stairs. We rode for quite a while, slowing down gradually._

_And that's when I saw him._

_Rumpelstiltskin. That man who I had seen in that dungeon. The one Anya rescued me from._

_Yet, if she was rescuing me, then why was the boy handing me over to him?_

* * *

_I shot up in my bed, breathing hard. Anya stood over me, her face alarmed. Alma was on my other side, patting my face with a cloth. Sweat dripped from my face as I tried to breath, taking in deep gulps of air._

_"What is wrong, Princess?!" Anya shouted, her face angered._

_"Calm down, Anya. It was only a nightmare." Alma scolded quickly, shooting the knight a look._

_Anya bit her lip, looking up and taking a deep breath._

_"I'm sorry, Princess. Forgive me."_

_I nodded slightly, looking up at her with wide eyes._

_"Why did you take me from Rumpelstiltskin?" I whispered, reaching out and touching her arm._

_She stared back down at me, her face confused._

_"Because it was my orders. He stole you away and it was my duty to get you back." _

_I tilted my head._

_"Was it really, my knight?"_

_Her breathed hitched and, suddenly, she pulled herself away from my grasp. I wasn't surprised. She was just as used to me referring to her as 'my knight' as I was. _

_She was exactly like me, in my shoes._

_"Liar." I hissed, ripping the covers back and jumping out of bed._

_"Felicity!" Alma exclaimed, grabbing me. "Get back in bed!"_

_"No!" I screamed, struggling in her grasp. "I must leave! I don't belong here! I am no Princess, let alone any sort of Felicity! Let me go!" _

_She didn't, her grip tightening. Anya hesitated, adding more to my theory, before she ran around the bed, helping Alma lower me back onto the bed._

_"Princess, you're only confused. I'm certain that you belong here. This is your home."_

_I shook my head frantically, but managed to bite down on the inside of my mouth. If not, I would've spat disgusting words at her, unable to stop the anger. She seemed to notice this, flinching slightly. Yet she continued to hold me down._

_"But my dreams-" I started, staring at Alma for help._

_"Listen to what you're saying. They're dreams. Nothing real about them. Just try to remember, Princess. That's all you can do." Anya frowned, pushing her hair out of her face._

_That's when I noticed the nasty scar trailing from her left eye. No, I take that back. It wasn't nasty, no, it was..._

_Enchanting._

_I instantly calmed down, my breathing slowly returning to normal. The tears on my face, hot and fresh, started pouring from my eyes. Anya sighed, releasing her grip and stepping away._

_"I-I just want to go home," I sobbed, rolling over and shielding my eyes with my arm._

_I didn't want them to see the mess I had turned into._

_Or, maybe I had always been a mess...?_

_Nothing was real anymore._

* * *

Finny's eyes flew open, instantly finding the rising sunlight peeking through the window. She sighed, throwing back the covers and sitting up-right in her bed. Glancing over, she noticed that Anya had already gotten out of bed. Early bird gets the worm, after all. And, in this case, the worm was the shower. Her hand reached out, flopping around on the nightstand until her hand finally hit her glasses.

Finny groaned, standing slowly as she slipped them on. Her head was still damp from her shower the night before and she could still smell the vanilla bodywash on her skin.

They had to start school today.

The Storybrooke Highschool wasn't very big and the number of students who attended was even smaller than the building itself. There were some crazy classes like archery, horse back riding, and a class to control the 'beast within'. Fortunately, Finny got relatively normal classes. Theater Arts and creative writing, much to her dismay. She glanced at her left hand, feeling anger bubble up into her chest.

Creative writing would be difficult, considering the condition of her entire left arm. But, theater arts? She could barely speak to a person, let alone stand on a stage in front of a room filled with them and speak loud enough so they all could hear!

That's just something she's going to have to get over.

Finny smiled slightly, noticing Jade jump from the top of a tall bookshelf against the wall.

The cat had decided that it would be her bed.

Finny didn't mind.

"What classes did you get?"

Anya groaned, flicking open the paper that was folded in her hands. Finny giggled at her, leaning over to read the small print. The older girl was supposed to graduate early, the semester before, but because of the move, she missed her finals.

Pissed was just an understatement of what she was feeling right now.

"I already have all my credits for science and math, so I just have to re-take English Lit. and Economics. I also have Theater Arts, my own secret pleasure," Anya winked, smirking. "And some weird class on how to 'use a sword'. What would you even call that class? 'Swording'?"

Anya groaned louder, kicking a rock.

"I don't even own a sword!"

"You don't need one."

Anya spun around, her eyes wide. Emma gave a little wave, her other hand resting on Henry's back.

"They provide the sword. That class was passed last year. A master swordsman teaches that class, so it oughta be a pretty good one." Emma informed, glancing at Finny.

Finny immediately looked away, her hands finding her bracelets.

"I just don't understand the necessity of it. I mean, when am I going to ever need a sword?"

Emma scoffed, shaking her head.

"You'd be surprised. You live in Storybrooke now. It's a lot different than any other town."

"Oh, yeah. You guys and your fairy tale lives."

Finny glanced up, stopping in her tracks.

"Fairy tale lives?" She whispered, tilting her head.

"Yeah. This woman named Mary Margret told me that she was really Snow White and her husband was Prince Charming." Anya snorted, grabbing Finny's arm and pulling her along. "Isn't that who all women wish their husbands were?"

"You might as well believe it, 'cause it's true." Henry spoke up, running ahead of both Anya and Finny, his face pleading. "I'm the baby the Rumpelstiltskin took away from that Princess, up in the tower. Ma obviously didn't guess his name correctly."

Emma smirked, ruffling Henry's hair.

"I guess I didn't, Kid. His name is pretty confusing."

Anya groaned, raising her eyebrow as she shot Finny a sideward glance.

"You guys are kidding, right?"

"I see someone isn't into fairy tales."

Anya's face softened and she smirked, dropping her head.

"Kinda hard to believe in something so amazing when your life's been so crappy."

Finny glanced over at her, her eyes shadowed by her hair.

"...you shouldn't think that way, Anya." Finny whispered, letting go of her bracelet. "Everyone gets a happy ending. When I have a say in it, at least."

Anya scoffed, rolling her eyes. Yet, Emma could see the edges of a smile creeping onto her face at the sentiment.

"Thanks, Finn. But it's a doubtful thing." Anya sighed, lulling her head around. "Anyways, my happy ending can only happen through the sudden bounty of twinkies. And those aren't even on shelves anymore."

"Oh, the agony!" Sarah screamed, running past them and placing her hand over her heart in false agony. "My munchies are no longer existent! The horror!"

Anya laughed, hitting the lithe girl on the shoulder.

"It's serious!"

Sarah smiled, turning towards Emma.

"Hi there! I don't think we were properly introduced a couple days ago. Being in a moving van while introduced doesn't exactly leave a grade-A impression in someone's mind. I'm Sarah Kimi!" Sarah stuck out her hand, exclaiming the words quickly.

Emma felt something familiar in the small girl, though she couldn't place exactly what it was. Blonde hair, hazel eyes, dimples, small mouth, tiny hands...  
As Emma enveloped the tiny hand with her own, larger one, it hit her:  
Sarah had a scar on her upper lip, almost exactly identical to Regina's. Sarah's seemed more recent, unlike Regina, who had a scar faded by time.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah. Emma Swan." Emma smiled, her brows furrowed.

"And I'm Henry!"

Sarah turned, ready to shake Henry's hand as well. His smile faltered at the sight of her face.

"Hey...nice scar. Where'd you get it from?"

Emma's eyes widened. She would have at least asked Finny, not straight up asked Sarah. That's being too blunt, especially when you hardly know someone.

"Oh, this old thing?" Sarah laughed, dropping her hand. "My lip got caught on something when I was younger. Can't exactly remember what happened, considering my age. It's nothing, really."

She walked ahead, her hands meeting each other behind her back.

Anya glanced at Finny, whose face was aimed towards the sidewalk. After Sarah sped ahead, much too far away to hear, Anya sighed.

"Sorry about that. Sarah's really conscious about her scar. It doesn't exactly have any good memories behind it. Sorry she lied, but it's just something she doesn't want to talk about."

"No, no. I understand." Emma nodded, frowning at Henry.

"Sorry. I just really wanted to know where she got it. Mom has the exact same scar."

"It's ok, kid. Sarah will probably forget about it soon enough, anyways." Anya shrugged, her eyes growing heavy. "Are we at school yet? I'm ready to get this day over with."

* * *

Ruby leaned over the counter, pointing some foreign food that Belle couldn't name when the door slammed shut. Ruby shot backwards, suddenly realizing how close to the other girl she was, and glanced over. A boy stood there, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops. Sorry for slamming it." He smiled, placing his bag on a table.

"That's alright. The wind's high today, so it probably caught the door or something." Ruby smiled back, walking over to take his order. "We're closed right now, but I'm sure we can whip you something up."

"Uh, actually, I was wondering if you knew where Alma was at?" He pushed his sleeves up, glancing around.

"Oh, yeah. She works in the back with Granny. I'll go get her."

Ruby breezed past Belle, who stared at the boy, her head cocked to the side. He smiled at her, nodding his head slightly.

"Name's Max." He offered, trying to break the silence. "You have a name?"

"Belle." She spoke softly, furrowing her brows. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Doubtful. I'm not from around these parts." He laughed, brushing his hand through his blond hair.

"You just look familiar, that's all. Sorry."

"It's alright. I actually get that a lot. I think it's the chin." He modeled it for her, taking his hand and outlining it for her.

"No, no. I'm sure it's the eyes." She laughed as he widened them for her, making a face.

"What? Green and clear?"

"No, no...just..." She cocked her head. "Familiar."

"Max!"

Alma scurried through the diner, Granny in tow behind her. Alma threw her arms around him, almost lifting him off of the ground. He laughed, throwing his arms around her.

"Mother Goose!" He exclaimed as she pulled away from him.

"How've you been, Max?" She smiled up at him, ruffling his hair. "You've really grown! Anya is going to be so happy to see you."

"I've been...alright. You know me. Jumping around, place to place, never seeming to find a home."

She nodded, giving him the once over.

"He needs more meat on his bones, if you ask me." Granny smirked, staring at him softly. "C'mere, Boy."

His eyes shined as Granny pulled him in for a strong hug.

"Why don't we fix him something to eat, Eugenia?"

Granny pulled away, her face lighting up.

"That's a good idea, Alma! He used to enjoy my grilled cheese when he was younger. You want some, Nathan?" She pinched his cheeks, causing him to laugh.

"Wait-Nathan?" Ruby exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up. "You mean little, scrawny, bony, awkward Nathaniel S-"

"Shh!" Granny scolded, shooting Ruby a face. "While he's here, we'll call him Max."

"That is my Earth name, after all." He shrugged, smirking.

"Wait- you're from Fairytale Land?" Belle exclaimed, trying to remember exactly where she had seen him. Perhaps he knew her father...?

"Yes, I am." He nodded. "But don't you worry, Belle. You still don't remember who I am, and that's alright. You'll remember in no time, I promise. I mean, you've met me, just not yet."

"Oh." Belle cocked her head to the side slightly, her brows scrunching together. "I'm not quite sure I understand though, I'm sorry."

"To be honest, I'm still a little confused myself, Belle. But the only thing you can do it try to grasp it and believe in the fact that you might be able to remember." Granny tried to offer Belle some reassurance, shooting her a small smile.

"There was a mix up in the order of the stories." Alma informed, her hands on her hips. "Max is here to fix it, aren't you?"

"Wait. That isn't Nath-Max's job, is it? That job belongs to..." Ruby stopped, mid-sentence. Her eyes widened as she looked over at Max.

"Your sister...the Princess. Felicity."

He grimaced, lowering his gaze.

"Yes, it is. But she isn't in any position to be fixing the order of Fairytale stories. There are many other things she has to worry about. Danger."

"Danger?!" Ruby sprang forward as if she were about to attack. "Is Anya not protecting her?"

"Anya cannot remember. If she can't remember, how is she going to be able to do her job?" Max looked up, his brows furrowed. "Plus, you have to remember that the position of Felicity's knight wasn't Anya's job to begin with. It was forced upon her. She's doing the best she can, for someone with no training."

Ruby held her head, as if it pained her to remember. Belle grabbed her arm softly, looking up at her with worry.

"Ruby, are you alright? Sit down, please. You don't look good."

Ruby lowered herself onto a stool, holding her head as she stared at Max.

"Why does it hurt to remember?"

He gave a pained smile.

"Because you aren't supposed to. It's going to hurt at first, trust me. But the pain will go away, I promise."

Ruby nodded slightly.

"Who's Princess Felicity? And how long have you two remembered?"

"We can't exactly explain who Felicity is. That's something you're going to have to figure out on your own." Alma smiled softly, scurrying behind the counter and placing a glass under the tap. She gave the glass of water and a couple pills to Ruby.

"Take these. They'll help with the headache." Alma walked back over to Granny, sitting herself down in a chair.

"I always remembered. How can I forget my chicks? I know who each of them are...well, except for Finny. She's a mystery. In fact, I like to think that she doesn't have anything to do with this." Alma smiled. "As for your Grandmother, she remembered when I called her up and introduced myself."

"It was after the curse broke, mind you. That was one helluva phone call, though. At first, I refused to believe it. But just hearing Al's voice? That made me remember."

"What about Max?"

"Alma raised me since I showed up on the orphanage steps in a box. She called me Max, but raised me as Nathaniel. I've always remembered. There's never been a time that I haven't been able to."

"That's not fair." Ruby muttered.

There was a moment of silence, drawn out, before Ruby stuck out her tongue, blowing it at Max. He smiled back, crinkles forming around the edges of his eyes.

"Don't hold it against me, Red."

Belle walked over to Alma while Ruby and Max sat at a table, laughing among themselves.

"Alma? May I ask you to explain what all of this means? It makes no sense to me."

Alma looked up and gave a soft smile. She walked around the counter, motioning for Belle to sit on one of the stools in front of it.

"Don't look so scared to ask, Belle. I'll answer any question that you have. There are no secrets here."

"But didn't you say that there are things you couldn't tell?"

"Yes. But they're not secrets. If I was allowed to speak them, I most definitely would. I'd shout them from the roof, to be honest." Alma laughed softly, placing her hands in her lap. "But you want to know what this means, right? It is pretty confusing, when you think about it."

Belle nodded, leaning forward.

"Well. A long time ago, when the Evil Queen cast the spell that sent all of her people to this land, she had someone write all the stories of all of the people she was cursing. The Evil Queen wasn't sure why exactly she wanted to do this, considering they were never supposed to remember to begin with. But, unknown to her, there was a bit of hope stuck in her heart. She wasn't all evil, ya know. There was still some good left. And she wanted to give people the chance to remember.

"Only, that chance to remember didn't come free. She needed to find someone with the ability to write these stories...and the only person who could do so was her own daughter."

Belle's eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to calculate Alma's words.

"But...Regina doesn't have a daughter."

Alma smirked.

"You're right. Neither Regina or the Evil Queen had a daughter at that moment. So, naturally, Regina went to Rumpelstiltskin. She knew what she had to do, she just needed a little power to get it done. But, alas, crossing time lines and dimensions are not in the Dark one's jurisdiction. So, she came to me, telling me that she had to go to someone much higher up. Someone even higher than she." Alma smiled fondly, leaning her head forward to build suspense. "She needed my husband."

"Your husband?! But aren't you single?"

Alma laughed heartily, her head falling back.

"Perhaps I'm single in this land, Beauty, but that's only because my husband wasn't cursed to this world! He was left behind. Remember, my husband can cross over into any world, any dimension, any time line, so cursing him would do no good. Plus, he was going to be helping her." This is where Alma's face fell, her voice becoming hollow. "But that meant that I was to help her as well."

"So you helped in our being brought here?"

"No, no. I helped in creating the Storybook. The only way to get her daughter was to rip her from another dimension. Fortunately for us, another, close dimension's Emma and Regina were having some problems of their own. Both their kingdom and Emma's parent's kingdom were fighting. Snow didn't want Emma to have a child with Regina, one born of both light and dark. She believed that the child would be too powerful, but only if Regina carried the child. They already had Henry and another son, one that Emma carried, but this time, Regina wanted to carry it."

"Wait-magical babies between members of the same sex? That can happen?"

"Yes. If the love is true enough and they really want one, it is possible. But that's another topic I may discuss at another time."

Belle nodded slowly, noticing Ruby glance back at her. She shot Ruby a soft smile before turning back to Alma.

"Their wishes were granted, however, and that dimension's Regina found herself pregnant. Alas, both she and that Emma were afraid that Snow would take the baby away, so they hid her as soon as she was born, forcing her upon someone who was supposed to take care of her. Our Evil Queen knew of this and decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to snatch the baby away. Unfortunately, the one who was supposed to watch the child turned his back on the Swan Kingdom and allowed the child to escape. She was then kidnapped by Queen Snow and forced to live a life in the Charming Kingdom.

"That made things much more complicated for our beloved Evil Queen. She still needed to get that child and she still needed both myself and my husband for the job. So, naturally, she had my husband send us to that dimension with one simple task: Get the child."

"But...it wasn't so simple, I imagine?"

Alma nodded slowly, closing her eyes and biting her lip delicately.

"I was pregnant at the time I was sent over. I gave labor while I was there. But...my child was lost amongst the confusion. I do believe she was taken by the same person who was meant to watch over the child of light and dark, but I was never certain."

"Is it not Cosette?"

"...No. Cosette is my child in this world, but I...I never had her in the Enchanted Kingdom. But, at the same time, I didn't look like this in the Enchanted Kingdom. So, naturally, Cosette could be my child that was taken. The Evil Queen must've had some ounce of pity on me, considering she gave me such a blessing in this world."

Belle cocked her head to the side, frowning.

"I'm sorry to say this, but Alma, you speak of her as if she's someone that you admire. She is the reason you lost your child in the first place!"

"Belle, Honey." Alma placed her hand over Belle's, squeezing softly. "How do you think the Queen knew to come to me about my husband? This was not my first time meeting her. In fact, I had known her since she was a small child. I was close to Snow White once, as well. I knew the Queen when she was the tiniest, most innocent, sweetest thing. I was there for her when she had nothing." Alma's face fell. "But, sometimes, even that is not enough to completely help a person hold on."

Belle nodded slightly, biting her bottom lip. It was hard to see Regina as a child, so innocent and pure.

"Now, our quest decided to make itself even more complicated. See, the Queen wasn't aware of this, but her mother had gotten herself involved with both Snow and King Charming. Cora, her mother, knew of our arrival. So, naturally, she wiped our memories of our entire quest and stole our hearts. But my husband, being the deity that he is, remembered. At first, I was reluctant to believe him, but I knew in my heart that I loved and trusted him, even if I couldn't remember him."

"So...you got the child?"

Alma shook her head.

"We weren't able to get the child. But, instead, we were able to warn her about Cora. We also told her of how James and Snow were deceiving her. She believed us, instantly. My husband, his name Gregory, told me that there was something we could to to complete our mission: We had to free the seven children being controlled and tortured by Cora. Together, they controlled the hope that was lacking in the world. Without them, everything would turn to chaos. But the only person who could free them was the child of dark and light herself. With our help, she was able to free them."

"What good did that do?"

"It killed Cora, but it also allowed our Queen to come and snatch the child. One right, one wrong. That's exactly what the child of light and dark is meant for. Whatever right she does...comes with a price. Like magic. Queen Snow was right, in that aspect. The child was dangerous. But does that mean that she deserved to be snatched from her family? No. No one deserves that."

"So...who is the child?"

"Good question. Each of us, including the seven children, were affected by the Queen's curse. We were all sent here as well, but it was much different for us. We weren't subjected to stay in Storybrooke like everyone else. Yet, at the same time, it was up to me to reunite all of us. I'm not finished yet, but I'm sure everything will come together."

"What's your purpose of doing that? I mean, the child wrote the Storybook already, so why continue trying to find them?"

"Because the Storybook is not finished, my dear. And, due to all of the crossing dimensions and what not, the stories are all mixed up."

"I think I know what you mean by that. Since she came from a different world, it was full of different stories. She has to write the stories that she knows, so they're mixing up with the stories that are true for this world. The stories are...changing."

Alma nodded, smiling grimly.

"And who knows what that means? But I'm sure she knows best. She is the writer, after all."

Belle looked down, joining her hands together in her lap.

"Wait-did you say that you didn't look like this in the Enchanted Forest? But we all look the same. The Queen didn't change our appearance too badly. And how does Max-or is it Nathaniel?- know Ruby?"

"...I'm not exactly Human, Belle. Though my DNA is close enough to a Human's, I don't exactly age the same way. And I was born with the power to change my looks anytime I please. Though, I don't often. Back in Fairytale land, I had red hair and pale, freckly skin! Now, well, I obviously look nothing like that." She flounced her brown hair, grinning down at her dark skin. "I was told that my daughter was given the ability to change ages any time she pleased, but I've yet to see Cosette do such a thing.

"And as for Ruby and Nathaniel? Well, Nathaniel-we call him Max in this world-is the son that Emma and Regina had before the daughter that our Queen was after. When both me and my husband were sent to the other dimension, we had to take the place of who we were over there. And, over there, it was my duty to watch over both Nathaniel and Henry. I was the caretaker. Unfortunately, that meant that when we went to get the child back from Snow, we had to take Nathaniel along with us. Before hand, apparently, he was always had an eye kept on him by either me...or Ruby. They took to each other. He quite enjoys animals." Alma smiled, jerking her head towards the two.

Belle suddenly noticed them, for what felt like the first time. Ruby was telling him about some story about one of her eventful prowls. He was eating it up, asking as many questions as he possibly could. Belle smiled softly, glancing down at her hands.

"Were...were we close? I mean...Max and I. Did we know each other?"

Alma laughed, crossing her legs.

"Yes, of course! You and Ruby, together, was something special. You wouldn't find you without Ruby or Ruby without you. Because of that, Nathaniel was also quite close to you. When he used to sleep in your corridors of the kingdom, you would always tuck him in and read him his favorite stories. Well, that was only on certain days. Otherwise, either Emma or Regina would see him to bed, naturally. You couldn't always see him to bed. Both you and Ruby had another little rascal on your hands." Alma winked.

"A...another little rascal?"

Alma raised her hand and pretended to lock her lips together.

She threw out the key, too.

* * *

Emma walked along the sidewalk, noticing all the high schoolers on their trek home. She smirked, watching as Anya grumbled about the heavy sword that was now slung over her shoulder in a strap. The girl was arguing with that same Ishai boy that Emma had met on their first day in Storybrooke. He, too, was carrying a sword on his back.

Finny was several people behind them, trying to adjust something in her bag. She stopped, brows furred, and moved to stand against the wall of a building so she could see what she was doing. Emma saw a flash of the large words 'Sketchbook' before it became hidden by the fabric of the red and black bag.

"Hey, Finny!"

Finny looked up, her eyes wide. She seemed to relax at the sight of Emma who was standing on the other side of the street, waving her over. Finny looked both ways before she quickly crossed the street, her head cast downwards. Emma smiled as she stared down at the bashful girl.

"I know we're going in completely opposite directions, but I was wondering if you'd keep me company as I walk back to the station?"

Finny nodded quickly, making what seemed to be a noise of approval. Emma started walking, noticing when Finny fell into step beside of her.

"I didn't know you liked to draw."

Finny looked up at her, her eyes wide. Emma laughed.

"I saw your sketchbook while you were fighting with the bag."

Finny gave a half smile, relieved.

"Oh. Well, yeah, I used to love to draw. I don't really draw anymore, though."

"Why not? You should always keep doing what you love. I know I did." Emma smirked.

"Really? You loved being a sheriff or something?"

"No. I was talking about Regina." Emma laughed as Finny's face turned beet red.

"Kidding, kidding! Except...not really."

Finny shook her head, shooting Emma a wide smile.

"To answer your earlier question, I stopped drawing because...something happened. My whole left arm was practically mutilated. I'm extremely lucky to even have the ability to use it again."

"But because of that, you aren't allowed to draw?"

"Oh, no. I'm allowed to, but it's just really hard to use my left hand. After a while, it starts to ache, and I have to move it around a lot to make a decent sketch. So I gave it up. But I'm trying to re-learn with my right hand, though I doubt I'll ever be as good."

Emma made a noise of pity, frowning.

"Are the drawings in that sketchbook from before the accident?"

Finny nodded silently.

With that, Emma stopped, opening the box she held in her hands.

"I'll give you a donut if you let me see them."

Finny laughed, opening her bag and taking out the sketchbook.

"You don't need to bribe me with donuts...what flavor are they?"

"Well, I got a few glazed, a few lemon filled, and, mostly for Regina, a couple apple filled."

"Ooh, hard pick. I do love lemon filled."

"Really? I'm usually the only one who orders them in town."

"Well, looks like you just got new donut competition." Finny winked, picking one from the box.

"Seems like it." Emma chuckled as she watched Finny take a large bite from it, sucking the lemon filling from the middle.

She opened the book in her hands, flipping through the pages. Finny stood by her side, staring down at the drawings.

"You sure do draw a lot of fairytale characters...is that a pirate?"

"I'm not sure what she is. Drew her on a whim."

"Damn, kid...you're good."

Finny made a strange noise, the compliment going in one ear and out the other.

"Is that the Cheshire cat?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Why isn't he purple?"

Finny shrugged.

"I've had always wanted an orange cat. It reminds me of Jade. Jefferson told me that she was a sneaky cat, so I thought that the role was fitting."

"You've spoken to _Jefferson_?" Emma looked up, her brows furrowed.

"Yeah. He spoke to me on my way to the orphanage one day. Introduced himself and his daughter."

Emma made a slight noise, lifting her eyebrow and shrugging.

"Anyways, while we're walking together, I thought I might be allowed to ask a question?" Finny spoke nervously, biting her lip softly. Emma's face softened as she closed the sketchbook, handing it back to the girl.

"Sure. Shoot."

They started walking again, slower than they had been before hand.

"Well...why were you taking so much interest in Sarah's lip scar? I mean, if you'd like to know the story, Sarah told me that I had permission to tell you. She was just caught off guard, is all."

"You sure she gave you the ok?"

"I'm certain. I wouldn't tell her hardships without her permission. I wouldn't want anyone doing that to me."

Emma nodded.

"Alright. You're not lying. So, tell me, what happened?"

"When Sarah was little, she was involved in a horrible car crash that killed both of her parents. So, she had to go live with her aunt. Her aunt was a very cautious person, so she kept Sarah home schooled and never allowed her outside of the house. Yet, her aunt was never around." Finny shrugged her bag higher up on her shoulder.

"Sarah was-and still is, mind you- a naturally curious person. She loves adventure and danger, so it was obvious that she'd want to wander around in the outside world. She wanted to go to school. She wanted friends and an assigned desk and having to participate in PE once a week. She decided to bring it up to her aunt, but her aunt was so outraged by the idea that she struck Sarah. One of her aunt's rings got stuck in her upper lip, causing it to scar. It was a reminder that she was not to leave the confines of her home due to the negative things that lay beyond the door."

"So, it was child abuse?"

Finny shrugged.

"The really ironic thing is that, only a couple months after that happened, Sarah was diagnosed with cancer."

"Wait- seriously?!"

"Yeah. She beat it, though. That's why she's so cheerful all the time. Because she almost lost her life. But everything worked out alright because Ishai found her. He told Alma about her and she was able to take her from the home."

"Neglect and abuse? Damn." Emma clenched her fists. "I hate it when kids have to go through shit like that."

"Yeah, I know." Finny whispered, trailing her finger down her left arm without thinking. Emma noticed, but decided not to say anything about it.

"I was an orphan. Passed from foster home to foster home my entire life."

Finny looked over at her, staring at her through her bangs.

"Really? Did Mary Margret and David finally adopt you?"

"No. I found them a couple years ago. They're my real parents."

"Wow. Why'd they give you up, anyways?"

Emma smirked.

"They thought it was best for me."

* * *

Regina tapped her foot impatiently, staring out the window of the station. She had told Emma to get donuts an hour ago- what was taking her so long?!

Suddenly, she noticed Finny and Emma walking down the sideway, almost to the police station doors. Regina's eyes widened as she fiddled around, reaching for her phone. After only two rings, she watched Emma pick up.

"Hey, 'Gina. I got the donuts."

"I know. I'm looking down at you."

Emma turned, her face breaking out into a smile as she gave Regina a tiny wave. Finny lowered her head, her fingers finding her bracelets.

"Yeah, I ran into Finny. We'll be there in a minute-"

"No, Emma. I'd love to spend some time with Finny, but that's probably...not the best idea." Regina bit her lip.

"Why not?" Emma furrowed her brows together.

"Well...I was craving donuts, sure, but...I was craving a specific kind of 'donut'." Regina smirked.

"Wha-" Emma's eyes widened as she started blushing, staring down just as Finny had. "Oh."

"Oh, yes."

"A-alright. Well," Regina heard an audible gulp. "I'll be inside in a moment."

"I'll be waiting...Sheriff."

Emma closed her phone, clearing her throat as she turned to Finny.

"Seems like this wasn't exactly..."

"You weren't expecting me." Finny smirked. "I understand. She needs you to go over some case files or something, right? May I have another donut? Then I'll be on my way."

"O-oh." Emma nodded, opening the box back up. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Finn. We're going to Granny's later tonight, if you wanna miraculously show up."

"Thanks, Emma." Finny grabbed a glazed donut, taking a bite as Emma closed the box. "I'll see you later."

Emma nodded and turned to the station doors, licking her lips with anticipation of what was waiting on her. Finny started walking away before turning around quickly.

"Oh- Emma!" She shouted.

Emma looked back, shouting an impatient "Yeah?"

"Enjoy doing what you love."

* * *

_"Max!"_

As soon as she saw him, Anya practically sprinted across the diner, giving him a fierce punch to the arm.

"Where have you been, idiot?"

Belle looked at Alma, her eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I forgot to mention! Max has been with us since he was only a baby. Was dropped on the orphanage doorsteps in a box, with nothing but that ring left for him.

"I wear it everywhere I go...even if it does look weird." He smirked, flexing his knuckles.

Mary Margret, who sat at a booth with both Henry and David, couldn't help but look over. Her eyes widened as she stared at the familiar animal that the was engraved in it. It was a metallic swan, the exact same as the one that Emma wore around her neck.

"That doesn't answer my question. Where have you been?" Anya pouted, leaning on the table.

He laughed, noticing her uniform.

"Don't you have work? We have lots of time to talk later. As for now, I think you should do your job."

"I'd never be able to do my job with you in the room, Stupid."

"I can't help that I'm a distraction." He winked, grabbing his cup and downing the liquid inside quickly. "But, no worries. I have to leave anyways. There's someone I have to meet up with."

"Who?"

"Well," He stared at her, smirking. "You've changed into a nosy brat, now haven't you?"

"I've always been one. You just haven't been here enough to notice."

"Well, that," He stood, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Is a lie."

"A damn good one, though."

"Yeah, right. Keep practicing and maybe you'll get it. Supersenses, remember? Good luck fooling me." He turned, waving at Alma and Granny, they both waved back. Ruby blew him a kiss. He acted like it hit his face, just to see her laugh.

"Supersenses my ass. You're just the best liar."

He winked, flicking her on the forehead.

"And I suppose you'll never know, hm?"

"I suppose not." She stuck out her tongue.

Henry glanced over, his eyes narrowing at the boy. He had wanted to say something to him the whole time he was in the diner and now, his opportunity was almost gone.

Max walked in front of the door right as it opened, Finny stepping through. They collided, Finny stumbling backwards. He reached out, catching her before she hit the ground. They locked eyes, staring at each other intensely. She stood, grabbing his arms to steady herself.

"Sorry about that. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

Finny shook her head, biting the inside of her mouth.

"No, no. It was my fault. Thanks for...catching me." She gave a small smile before scurrying off to the back of the diner. Belle watched her, chuckling softly. Max stared her a moment before turning back around and leaving the diner.

As soon as he was gone, Henry stood up, heading straight for Finny.

"He didn't hurt you, did he? 'Cause, if he did..."

"No, I'm fine. Thanks though, Henry."

The young boy nodded, staring at the floor.

"Now, are you sure you're fine? It's you who's all mopey." She raised her eyebrow, smirking.

"I'm not mopey! I'm fine, just...I know I've seen him before. But I don't know where. He's not in the storybook, that I'm sure of."

"In the storybook? None of us are in the storybook. It's a book. We're humans, not characters."

Henry grimaced.

"Trust me, Finny. There's a truth behind everything you think isn't true."

"Really? I believe they put silly putty in McDonald's chicken nuggets. So does that make it any less true? I wish."

"What's McDonald's?"

"What's...McDonald's...Henry. Have you never eaten at _McDonald's_?"

"I've...I've never really been outside of Storybrooke."

"Oh." She smiled reassuringly. "No worries. That only means that you're one healthy kid."

He groaned suddenly, grabbing his head in frustration.

"We're wasting time, talking about chicken nuggets! Listen, Finny." He grabbed her arms as he climbed on a stool beside of her.

She nodded, her eyes widening at his seriousness.

"You aren't asking me to elope with you, are you?" She tried to joke, shooting a nervous smile.

"Ew, gross." He made a face. "No, I just...I want you to be my sister. Like, officially."

She blinked.

"...you mean...you want Emma and Regina to adopt me?" She smirked. "Henry, that's really out of my hands."

"No! It isn't." He gripped tighter, trying to get her to see. "Trust me. When you really want something, it isn't unobtainable. You just have to try."

"I hate to say this, but...you're wrong. Way wrong."

He jerked back, hurt at her words.

"At least, for me you are. When I want something, regardless of what I do, I never get it. It's actually best if I distance myself. I'm really bad luck."

"But that means nothing! You may not want to be apart of my family, but it's what I want. And so, since I'm not you, I'll get it. As long as I try hard enough."

"No, Henry-"

"I don't even understand how you know how it feels to want something so badly enough to go after it and try to get it. You're so shy, it's no wonder why you can't get anything."

"Hey. I know that feeling as well as you."

"Do you? Really?" He bit his lip. "I don't think so."

He could tell she was getting angry just by the red blush that splattered across her cheeks and crept down her neck.

"Or do you want to prove me wrong?"

Crossing his arms, Henry waited. She looked down, frowning and biting her lip. It took a few, prolonged seconds, but she finally looked back up, defeat spread across her face.

"...Once upon a time, I had fallen in love."

And with that, Henry knew he had made the right moves.

* * *

_For the past week, everything became repetition. Arguments with Anya, breakfast and dinner with Snow and Charming, being confined to my room all day, Insights with Alma, nightmares at night, and looking out at the tower across the clearing after I couldn't go back to sleep. The nightmares all muddled together, morphing into one long sequence. But, the following morning of my tenth day at the castle, I was awoken by Alma, who immediately started my day off by forcing me into some tight, dark dress._

_"Cora's almost to the castle. You'll have to be ready for her arrival, otherwise..."_

_"Otherwise?"_

_"Otherwise, you'll be punished."_

_"Punished?! Punished because I wasn't able to get myself ready in time? I only arrived here yesterday, Alma. You'd think that they'd be lenient enough to give me some rest."_

_"Yes, you would think that. But, knowing Cora, this isn't something to play around with. Is it too tight?"_

_"Even having the dress on my skin is too tight. I'll have to let it be."_

_"My words do apply here, Felicity. Don't trust any of these people, but especially Cora and her lackeys, you understand?"_

_"Her lackeys?"_

_Alma spun me around, combing through my hair viciously. I flinched up, trying to swat her hand away, but failing miserably._

_"They are her servants, cursed with the life of fetching and doing whatever she needs. She also has two apprentices," Alma hesitated, her combing becoming more thorough._

_"And? Who are they?"_

_"Well, one of them you must stay away from at all costs. She's nasty and despicable, the perfect little Cora."_

_"Who's the other, Alma?"_

_She was quiet for a long moment, grabbing a ribbon and pulling my hair back gently._

_"You look like your mother, you know. Just like her."_

_My eyes widened as I stared back at myself in the mirror. Alma's hands worked fast, tying the ribbon expertly._

_"Do you...know her?"_

_Alma smiled, nodding softly as her hands fluttered down to my shoulders, smoothing out the fabric that covered them._

_"Yes, I did. She was-is-amazing. Both of them, actually."_

_"...both of them?" I twisted my whole body around, watching as Alma bit her lip nervously. "Is?"_

_"You had two mothers who loved each other very much. I hope you have nothing against-"_

_"Love is love, Alma. That's not the point. You knew them and they're still alive. So what am I doing here?!"_

_Alma brushed past me, grabbing a perfume that rested on the vanity. She sprayed it on my uncomfortable dress and quickly placed it down, grabbing a pair of simple flats. _

_"These go well with the dress, hm?" _

_I narrowed my eyes, slipping into the shoes._

_"You're avoiding my questions."_

_She smiled brightly, folding her hands together in front of her._

_"Why, yes I am."_

_I sighed, closing my eyes and standing slowly. As I reopened them, I noticed myself in the mirror. Not for the first time, but now, I truly noticed myself. I trailed my finger across my full lips lightly, my gray eyes shining brightly with unshed tears I hadn't noticed._

_"...How do I look like her?"_

_Alma moved to stand behind me once again, her hands finding their place on my shoulders._

_"The shape of your face. The sparkle of your eyes. The rose color that always graces your cheeks. That chin, for sure. And, especially, that stubbornness that absolutely brightens your personality." Alma smirked, looking down at me._

_"Your sarcasm is lovely." I whisper, smiling slightly._

_"Felicity, you're Cora's other apprentice."_

_My eyes widen and I feel a sense of dread shake through my bones._

_"How am I supposed to avoid her other apprentice at all costs, if that's the case?!"_

_Alma steps away quickly and the door suddenly opens, Anya standing on the other side of it._

_"C'Mon, Princess. Cora is here."_

_The same knight that had come to get Anya the night before stood beside of her, his face full of apprehension. Alma glanced over at him and I noticed the wink she gave him as he stared at her, almost looking for reassurance. _

_I started towards the door, Alma not far behind me. She pressed a hand on my back, gently, as if telling me not to worry. Everything would be fine._

_I don't know why I'm so scared. Cora is someone I look up to; someone I love._

_Isn't she?_

* * *

_Climbing down the long and winding set of stairs, I notice a man pacing at the end of them. He had brown hair which was sticking up everywhere, in all directions. His thick eyebrows were scrunched together and the thin frown on his face made it evident that he was anxious. As I got closer, I noticed his slight stubble and the thousands of tiny freckles that dotted across the bridge of his nose and splattered both of his cheeks._

_Almost as if I had a sudden revelation, I realized that he was the disheveled knight that had retrieved Alma from my room the night before._

_A girl, about the same age as Anya and I, stood beside of him. She wasn't as anxious as he was, but she seemed to have on a hardy, cold face. She stared up at me with large, brown, doe eyes, her expression not wavering. Her hair was a dark, raven black, making the long, white rabbit ears sticking up from her head pop out more. She was dressed in a hue of blacks, purples, and deep blues. The necklace she wore caught my eyes, but only momentarily. It was a dream catcher, though it wasn't normal. In the middle was a swirl, behind the hands of a watch, which moved steadily, unnerving. Long strings of leather with beads and feathers attached hung from the bottom of the center, in hues of yellows, oranges, and reds._

_As I moved closer, her gaze following me down the stairs, I noticed that her eyes were shining._

_"You're late!" _

_The man's words broke our gaze, both of us moving our heads to stare at him. Alma laughed softly, moving to kiss the man on the cheek._

_"Hush, now, Gregory. Worrying about the time is not your job." She glances over to the rabbit girl, giving her a soft smile. "Hello there, Aviva."_

_Aviva bowed, her ears twitching slightly. I couldn't help but stifle a giggle, covering my hand with my mouth. Aviva noticed, looking over at me. My giggles seemed to break her mask as she shot me a bemused smile._

_"Who else it there to worry? Aviva isn't, and she's the white rabbit. It's her job to worry." He ran his hand through his messy hair, biting his lip._

_Aviva twitched her nose, the mask creeping back upon her face. _

_"Has Isis returned with Cora?"_

_I glanced over at the male knight, watching his face turn stony. His hair was blond and his eyes were a magnificent, almost hazel from a glance, green. _

_"Yes, she has." Gregory nodded. "Unfortunately..." He muttered softly, rolling his eyes._

_The knight nodded, stepping down from the final stair. He placed his hand on my back, leading me through an arching corridor._

_"Well, lets go. May as well get this over with."_

_I glanced over my shoulder at Aviva, blushing and quickly tuning back around when I realized she was staring at me as well. _

* * *

_The room I was led into was tall and ornate, rich and expensive looking furniture making it cramped. Yet, I was certain that it was only me who felt that way._

_A woman sat on a couch and two kids around my age sat on each side of her, Charming and Snow across from her. They were laughing at something one of the girls had said, staring at her joyously. _

_The girl who caused the laughter was the first to notice me, her whole face lighting up as she gave me a soft stare. It wasn't fake, I realized with a jolt of happiness. For the first time in this stuffy castle, I felt something real._

_She jumped up, her curly black hair flouncing everywhere as I was engulfed into her arms. She rocked me around, squeezing me to her body tighter and tighter. The smile that crept on my face was far from fake. In fact, I felt the slightest presence of blossoming tears in my eyes as I closed them, hugging her back with equal force._

_"Oh, Finny," She sobbed, her voice tickling my ear. "I missed you so much. So very, very much."_

_She pulled away, looking me in the eyes. Her face dropped slightly, almost as if I had confirmed something for her._

_"You truly do not remember, do you?"_

_I looked down, shaking my head slightly. _

_"...that's alright. I'll just have to help you remember. My name's Winola, but you usually just called me Winny. Get it? Winny for Winola and Finny for Felicity." She smiled at me, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Sorry."_

_I shook my head slightly, smiling softly._

_"Your determination is amazing...Winny. I'm sure we'll be great friends and, because of that, I'll remember in no time."_

_Doubtful. But I didn't want her to suffer. I would, at the very least, have to pretend._

_As she finally let me go, I finally got a good glance at Cora and the other girl that sat on the couch._

_And that's when I saw her. She was sitting to the left of Cora, a beautiful orange cat purring gently in her lap. If I had looked a moment longer, I would've realized that the cat was tense and seemed to purr only because it had to. _

_She stared back at me, her eyes fixated on mine. They were shining like pieces of chocolate candies. Her skin was a more neutralized caramel color. Her hair was curlier than Winny's, and it was a dark brown, her tresses sticking up every where. She smiled kindly, dimples appearing at both sides of her cheeks._

_I knew the blush was rising to my cheeks without even feeling it._

_If I had looked up and over to Aviva, I would have noticed her staring down at me, a look of curiosity written on her face. And, if I had stared for just a moment longer, I would've noticed the curiosity melt away into jealousy._

_The girl stood from the couch, making her way over properly. She gave me the tenderst of hugs, running her hand up and down my back. I blinked, balling my hands into fists and trying my hardest not to squeal in embarrassment._

_"Oh, Felicity. It's nice to see you again. Unfortunate, what happened." She spoke so confidently, though it was laced with grace. _

_I made a muffled noise, unable to speak. _

_"My name is Isis. You're my fellow peer, and we're both the apprentices of our Lady Cora. I thought for a second that you were planning on giving it up just for me, but then again, you aren't exactly the most giving." She laughed, smiling slightly. "You may not remember, but you're actually quite arrogant. The least of Cora's favorites, I reassure you."_

_And everything seemed to fall apart with those words._

_Her graceful, confident voice inflated in both ego and arrogance and her smile turned wicked, laced with a secret that I didn't know. Her laugh was filled with poison, like she wished she could just murder me on the spot. I blinked, scrunching my eyebrows together._

_Suddenly, I felt a hand on my back, reassuring me without words. I glanced up, realizing with a shock that the reassurance was coming from the male knight that I was to trust. He glared at Isis, shaking his head softly._

_"Isis. She's only just returned. There's no reason to start with her, especially while she can't even remember you." He spoke sternly, narrowing his eyes._

_"Who's side are you on, Nathaniel?" Isis crossed her arms in a huff, pouting. "You're my knight. She got stupid Anya."_

_Nathaniel sighed, dropping his hand. I immediately missed the comfort it brought me._

_"I'm on no one's side. I'm simply pointing out the obvious. And don't call Anya stupid, Isis. That's not polite."_

_Isis scowled, walking forward and grabbing Nathanial's arm, dragging him from the room. _

_As she brushed by me, she turned her head, smirking as she hissed her final words._

_"Welcome back, Princess."_

_I lifted my arm, placing my hand over the place my heart beat. She was mean, evil, the one I was supposed to avoid. My heart was not allowed to beat this way for such a person._

_"Oh, Felicity."_

_My head shot up, in the direction of Cora. _

_She didn't get up from the couch, she just continued sitting, her head cocked to the side slightly._

_"C-Cora." I nodded, leaning forward to bow to her. She laughed, patting the open seat beside of her._

_"Come and sit beside me, Dear."_

_I nodded numbly, stepping forward slowly. Winny noticed, grabbing my arm delicately and shooting me a reassuring smile. I smiled back, relishing the feeling of someone who genuinely seemed to care._

_"Anya, why don't you be a dear and bring us some more tea? I'd heat it up myself, but I'm too tired. It's been a long journey." Cora smiled to the knight, who only nodded in response, turning to head towards the kitchen. Gregory and Alma bowed slightly, leaving with her. Aviva walked towards the back of the room. I couldn't help but turn my head, watching as she leaned on the wall, crossing her arms. _

_Cora coughed slightly and I turned immediately. _

_Pretend. _

_That's what Alma had told me to do. _

_"Sorry, my Lady." I speak softly, wrapping my voice around the words as they formed. The sound of them was foreign on my tongue, tasting bitter. _

_"Oh, no reason to call me that! Just call me Cora, like you always do. You're my apprentice, not my servant." She eyed Winny, smiling with approval._

_"Now, Winola, I know you'd love to be by Felicity's side, but you have things to get done! Get with it, child."_

_Winny bit her lip, nodding slightly. She squeezed my arm one last time, for reassurance, before exiting the room quickly. I hate to say this, but without her there, what was I to do?_

_"Aviva. Are you still in the room?"_

_Aviva was quiet, her ears twitching._

_"...yes."_

_"Come here. Sit beside of Felicity. She can't remember and she's such a nervous child. Reassure her."_

_Aviva made a slight noise of disapproval, but started walking towards the couch regardless. I lowered myself onto the couch, playing with the cloth around my wrists._

_"Stop, Felicity. That's not proper." _

_Cora swatted at my hand, smoothing down the fabric as I moved it away._

_"Cross your legs, sit up straight, and smile politely."_

_I did as I was told, even as Aviva sat beside of me, resting her hand on the small of my back. Her touch burned._

_Cora studied me closely, smiling slightly._

_"Yes, yes. You may not remember now, but your body sure does. Exactly the way I trained you. Such a good girl."_

_Snow made a noise, one I wasn't accustomed to hearing. I glanced over at her, my smile never wavering._

_"Are you alright, Snow?"_

_The Queen nodded, her smile somewhat strained. I noticed a shine in her eyes that most definitely wasn't from happiness._

_"I just..." She stopped, thinking about what she was trying to say. "It's great to have you...home. Felicity." _

_Charming wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to lean into him._

_"Yes, it most certainly is." He agreed softly, placing a kiss to Snow's temple._

_"I agree. Now, Snow," Cora dove right in, just as I had expected her to do. "We're going to resume Felicity's training tomorrow. As of this moment, I thought we should remind her of all the things she has learned and all the privileges she got as my apprentice, hm?"_

_Snow nodded slightly. I felt Aviva's hand tense, so I hesitantly placed my hand on her knee. She glanced down at it in shock. My gaze lowered to the ground and I bit my lip, hoping I hadn't done something wrong. Instead, she removed her hand from the small of my back and placed it on top of mine, weaving our fingers together. I looked back up at her in surprise, only to find her staring the whole other direction. Yet, I didn't miss the hint of pink painting her cheeks._

_Much to my surprise, no one noticed the scene between the two of us, Snow talking right long as if nothing happened._

_"...ever since you were little, Cora has taken a liking to you. After a couple years of bonding, we discovered your powers." _

_My hand tensed up and my brows furred. Wait-hold on. Powers?_

_Cora glanced over at me and Snow sighed. Aviva squeezed my hand slightly._

_"I suppose you don't remember your powers, either, huh? I was sort of hoping you might...remember..." Snow it her lip, frowning._

_I shook my head, taking a deep breath._

_"I...I knew magic existed here and everything, but I'd never think that someone as ordinary as me would have something so...extraordinary." _

_This caused Charming to smile like he had just witnessed the cutest thing in the universe._

_"Why, Felicity, you're so extraordinary. Why would you think you aren't? You're capable of so much." He spoke with such confidence that I almost felt reassured._

_Almost._

_"What sort of powers did-do-I have?" I skipped over his question, suddenly finding it difficult to hold this proper position._

_"You had the white magic." Cora whispered, almost as if it were the most scandalous thing in the entire world. "The most powerful magic of all."_

_"The child of light and dark." Aviva spoke suddenly, her voice low. "You use my dream catcher to practice controlling yourself. It balances you, so you don't cross over into darkness."_

_Cora looked at her, nodding slightly._

_"Yes. The dream catcher is quite important. Without it near you, you could lapse into despair. And the whole child of light and dark bit is true, too. That's you. It does, however, make me wonder," She smiled, but there seemed to be something wicked about it. "Who exactly your parents are."_

_Snow glanced at Cora, frowning. _

_"Oh, my goodness. I'm sorry." Cora placed her hand over her mouth in shock that those words even left her mouth._

_"It's alright. I know, they're dead."_

_That was a lie, apparently. But they didn't have to know. _

_This seemed to calm everyone, except Aviva, who looked away._

_"As Cora's apprentice, you were allowed to do just about anything you pleased, as long as you showed up for her lessons. You could roam the castle, eat what ever you wanted, whenever you wanted to." Snow smiled softly. "Though, you never did go many places. You lingered in your room and in the library. Sometimes you'd hang around with Winny, or Alma."_

_"Do I...still have those privileges?"_

_Perhaps I could go investigate the girl in the tower._

_"Yes," Charming nodded. "But the first couple weeks, your sessions with Cora will be much more longer. You have to catch up on all you've forgotten, after all. After you finish the lessons, you can do as you please. Anya will be with you at all times, naturally."_

_I nodded, though I didn't miss the growing anger in my belly. I do not need that knight with me at every turn. _

_"So, Nathaniel is Isis' knight?" I ask suddenly, the question exiting my mouth before I could stop it. _

_"Yes, she is. And, about Isis..." Snow glanced at Cora nervously._

_"Isis is also an apprentice. However, she has her sessions at night, due to the fact that her magic is black, the secondmost powerful type of magic. She..." Cora stopped, thinking. "She isn't so fond of you. I was training her before I ever chose you, but you seemed to grab the subject of magic much better and quicker than she had. She may seems tough on the outside, but while you were gone, she was devastated. It's just much easier for her to put on that tough mask."_

_I nodded, butterflies resonating in my belly. It was somehow reassuring to hear that the elegant girl didn't hate me. Aviva removed her hand, folding it in her lap. I didn't even realize._

_And, if I had stepped back and looked at my thoughts a bit closer, I would've concluded that I had just completely disregarded Alma's words._

* * *

Finny jumped, glancing around the diner quickly.

"Finny, are you alright?!" Henry exclaimed, grabbing her arms to steady her.

She glanced down at him, her eyes wide. Gulping down the sudden memories-memories?- with a shake, she nodded slightly.

"Y-yes."

He seemed to relax, though he was a bit reluctant.

"Oh, well, you left off at how you had once fallen in love?"

He wouldn't just let it go, would he?

Those two, Mary Margret and David, walked over, smiling at Finny softly. Henry turned around, smiling at the two of them.

"You guys, have you met Finny?"

Mary Margret looked her over and Finny found myself doing the same to her.

Yes, they had met before. This was something Finny was certain of.

"We met a long time ago, Henry. I think...her second day here at Storybrooke?" She cocked her head, waiting for me to give an answer.

"Y-yes. We met...then." Finny found herself struggling to bring the words to the surface, her breathing becoming shallow.

"Honey...are you alright?" Mary Margret reached her hand out, trying to place it on Finny's forehead. Finny pulled away slightly, but allowed Mary Margret to feel her temperature.

"Woah- you're burning up!" The woman exclaimed, turning to her husband in concern.

This was enough.

Finny nodded slightly, grabbing her book off the counter. She scooted from the stool, wobbling a little to get her balance. Was she dizzy? No, she was certain.

"Finny! You have a fever-"

"'m fine,"

Anya and Alma rush from the back room, worry etched on their faces.

"What's wrong-" Anya glanced at Finny, her eyes widening. "Finny!"

_Who are these people? Well, I know who they are, but-_

Finny grabs her head, squeezing her eyes tightly. Anya shoots forward, grabbing her tightly around the shoulders.

"Finny, you're burning up. Lets get you home-"

The bell above the diner door rang, but Finny couldn't tell who had walked inside. Instead, she groaned at the sound, her vision going blurry. She heard new voices, worried and scared. Concerned.  
It was all too much, these noises. The more louder the voices got, the more blurry her vision got. Or, perhaps it was the other way around...?

Maybe if she closed her eyes, the blurriness would go away. Just for a second...

"Finny!"  
-


	5. Dream Catcher

**Hello again! In this chapter, there is a scene that isn't from either Storybrooke or FTL. It's from Finny's past. It's about time we start delving into that, I think. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Max left the diner in a hurry, glancing down at his watch.

"I'm late..." He moaned, heading off towards Mr. Gold's pawnshop.

People glanced at him as he walked down the street, obviously confused about another newcomer. He glanced back at them, smiling slightly. Some nodded, some smiled back, and a few blushed and swooned at his charm. He only chuckled, glancing down at his watch yet again.

Rumpelstiltskin will not be amused.

* * *

Several blocks over, Rumpel paced back and forth, his cane making soft clunks on the ground as he did so.

"He's late."

Jakob and William glanced at each other, worry crossing their faces. They had all agreed that Max would be their spy. Or, in better words, Max would collect information about everyone in town and try to determine who held the identity of Princess Felicity.

"Well, that is what the White Rabbit does, after all. You can't rely on him. It's in his nature to be late." Jakob rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter.

Rumpel stopped, glaring at the man.

"Yes, wise one, but he's also the very best at getting his hands on information. It's in his job description."

Jakob shrugged, crossing his arms. William decided to break the tension.

"How has life been, Rumpel?"

"_Seriously_?" Both The Dark One and Jakob spoke the word at the same time, causing William to put his hands up in defense.

"Well, I only thought we could get along. Considering our goal in this plan, we're going to be here a while." He made a point, but the other two men refused to see it that way.

"Not if I can help it. It's that stupid rabbit that's holding us back."

"He's not the-"

Suddenly, breaking off William's words, Max appeared at the door, pushing it open with a huff. He glanced at the men and tried smiling to them, but they only scowled deeper.

"It's about time, boy!" Rumpel stepped forward, holding his hand out. "Well? Where is it?"

Max nodded slowly, holding a bag out.

"Here. A strand of the goose hair, just as you asked."

"Took you long enough."

"Yes, but I got the job done. Is that not enough?"

Rumple looked him over, smiling wickedly.

"Your job isn't done yet, Dearie."

Rumpel backed away, heading towards his potions. Max watched with curiosity, his brows furring.

"This hair is going to help me determine the identity of Alma Gans."

Max dropped his head.

"There's no need for that-"

"Yes, there is. I know that she helped Regina get to Felicity, but I want to know who she really is. Mostly, what she's capable of."

Jakob looked over to William, rolling his eyes slightly. He stepped forward, hands on his hips.

"OK, look here, Rumpel. That Goose- she's nothing but a mere caretaker of children. What would she ever be capable of other than fixing macaroni and cheese and changing diapers?"

Rumpel didn't look up, a slight laugh escaping his lips.

"Oh but, dear Jakob, you didn't know Alma before Storybrooke. That woman is a looker now, but back then, she was...something else. Ginger hair, bright blue eyes, fair skin...Why would Regina change her looks and keep all of ours the same? Well, excluding the whole Snow White's hair debacle." Rumpel grimaced. "The reason for that, Grimm, is because Regina had nothing to do with Alma's change. Alma did it all on her own. She's not Human."

"Then what is she?"

Rumpel smiled tersely.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He returned to his potions, gently dropping Alma's hair into a potion that glowed a bright gold. "Now, Rabbit. Thank you for your work, but your job isn't exactly done."

"Rabbit?" Max's brows furred, confusion in his voice. "Did you just call me a rabbit?"

"Well, yes, obviously. There's no need to hide your identity from me, Boy. You're the White Rabbit." Rumpel responded, not bothering too look up. "Now, as I was saying-"

Max laughed, cutting him off.

"I'm not any sort of White Rabbit. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

This caught Rumpelstiltskin's attention, causing him to look up slowly.

"You...aren't?" He glanced at the two men resting against his counter. "He isn't?"

"No, he's not." William responded.

"What do you mean he isn't?! Why did we go pick him up if he has nothing to do with figuring out Felicity's identity?" Rumpel shouted, gripping the edge of his counter.

"He has to do with figuring out her identity. He is her brother, after all. But, what I was trying to tell you earlier was, he's going to deliver the Dream Catcher to Anya. If Anya is Felicity, then the white rabbit will be drawn to her." William explained, grabbing the yellow dream catcher that Rumpel had used only once before.

Max responded immediately, drawing his brows tighter together.

"The White Rabbit won't hurt Anya, will he?"

Jakob laughed, crossing his arms.

"Don't you mean, 'Anya won't fall in love with that rabbit, will she?'. And your answer is no, she won't." He smirked, though his eyes shined with respect for the younger boy. "Here, come get this thing."

Max nodded, seeming to ease quickly as he stepped forward to grab the dream catcher.

"Go do your job, Max." Rumpel was back to his potion now, bottling it up and placing a cap on the top. "And we'll do ours."

* * *

"A...dream catcher?"

Max glanced down at the object in his extended hand, biting his lip nervously. If she wouldn't take it, he'd just have to leave it with Alma.

"Yes. Do you need it? ...or want it?" He raised his eyebrows, nudging her arm slightly. "It's really pretty."

She snorted.

"Pretty?! That's a first for you, Max. _Pretty?_ You've never used that word before."

He groaned, shoving it into her hands.

"Just take it, alright?!"

Her face softened as she grabbed it gently.

"I guess you heard about Finny, huh?"

He stopped groaning, staring at her with confusion.

"Huh? What happened to Finny?"

She smirked.

"You don't have to pretend. I know what dream catchers are supposed to do. Catch nightmares, right?"

He nodded immediately. Anything to get her to take it.

"Well, Finny collapsed earlier. Whale-the doctor, in case you didn't know-said it was from lack of sleep. It's because she's been having nightmares."

_Oh._

He glanced down at the dream catcher in her hand, his heart swelling with glee.

Yet, something in him felt apprehension. Not because he didn't want the girl to have the dream catcher, no. He felt apprehension...and a little bit of sadness for Finny. He didn't know her as well as Anya, or even as well as any of the other orphans. She was always quiet and refused to speak to him. But she was always kind. And Anya seemed to like her a lot.

"Thanks, Max. I'll make sure Finny hangs this up in her room. Maybe if she thinks the nightmares are being stopped, she'll stop dreaming them."

Anya patted the boy on the cheek before turning away, back into the hospital room that was reserved for her best friend.

Max watched her leave, the place her hand had been burning into his skin.

* * *

"Finny, why did you not tell me that you haven't been sleeping?!"

Alma stormed into the hospital room, throwing her arms around Finny, who now sat up in her bed. Finny blinked, hugging her back awkwardly with one hand.

"Uhm, I've been sleeping, I just-"

"No, listen here. Having nightmares every night is not the equivalent to getting a real night's rest! You should've told me!"

"...why?"

Alma let her go, staring at her in surprise. She shook her head gently, smiling slightly.

"So I could've done something to help."

This time, Finny smiled softly, her legs shifting to get out from under the covers.

"There's nothing you can do, Alma. The way I see it, I'm only having nightmares because I've moved to a new place. My head's just adjusting to the change in scenery, that's all."

Alma bit her lip, stroking the girl's hair softly.

"Finny..." She laughed suddenly, the sound lighting up the sterile, white room. "You really worried me at the diner. It looked like you were trying to run. But that's not my business to know, now is it?"

The older woman stood, holding her hand out.

"Doctor Whale said it was alright for you to leave, as long as you got more rest."

Finny nodded, grabbing the hand and allowing Alma to pull her to her feet. It was only then that Finny noticed Regina sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. The woman had a suitcase beside of her, her hand resting on the handle.

Finny noticed that the suitcase happened to be her's.

She glanced up at Alma, confusion evident in her face. Alma stared back, smoothing her hair down.

"You're staying with Regina until your health gets better."

Finny's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, Finny, but Doctor Whale suggested sleeping in a room alone and we don't have anywhere you can sleep without someone else joining you. Heck, you already sleep in the attic with Anya." Alma smiled gently, guilt replacing her joyous look. "It was kind of the Mayor to offer you one of her guest bedrooms to stay in. I'm sure you'll enjoy it there."

Almost as if this were her cue, Regina stood, smoothing down her skirt.

"It's really no problem, Alma. I keep the rooms tidy, but what's the use if no one uses them? It's only Henry, Emma, and I. It gets pretty quiet, considering it's such a big house. A new voice ought to brighten everything up." Regina smiled at Finny.

Finny cocked her head to the side.

_Was that a joke? Scratch that. Was Henry right after all? Isn't this the equivalent to him getting his desire?_

Alma bit her lip once again, realizing how hard this must be for the girl. It took her a long time before she even felt remotely comfortable with the other orphans. Now, she was being forced to get used to another home that she wouldn't even be living in for a while.

This had happened to Finny once before. It hadn't ended well.

_They were the perfect parents. Every bit of information Alma could find about them was checked, double checked, and then handed off to Anya so she could deem them adequate._

_Alma Gans would not let her chicks go to a home that wasn't perfect in every way._

_It was a strange day when a couple came into their orphanage, one meant for teens, and told her that they wanted to adopt Finny. She wasn't used to giving away the teens who occupied her home, but who was she to turn the couple away?_

_So, when Finny left that day, it was only natural that Alma was shocked when the family called two weeks later, begging her to take Finny back._

_They said that the shy girl was too shy. She didn't speak, she didn't make a sound. Instead, she played with the bracelets on her wrists and bit her lip. They decided to take the bracelets away, but that only caused her to pinch the skin on her wrist, causing it to scar and turn a horrible red. She was too much. Or, maybe, too little. They wanted a teenager, but they wanted one that actually had personality. One that had charisma. One that actually tried to speak to them. _

_One that wasn't Finny._

"It's alright, Alma. I'm OK."

Alma blinked, staring down at the girl in shock.

"Thank you for...caring so much."

Finny smiled bashfully at her, her hands trying to find her bracelets. Alma noticed and grabbed the girl's hands in her own, rubbing her thumbs over them softly.

"It's alright, Sweetheart. You said nothing wrong, so don't punish yourself for it. Say what you want, Dear. No one can hold that against you. Everyone else has the right to speak, so don't you have that right, too?"

Suddenly, Anya walked through the door, clutching the dream catcher in her hands. Finny looked past Alma, smiling softly as Anya walked over to her. Anya gave a little wave to Regina, smiling to the mayor.

"Hey, Finn. I know you're gonna be gone for a while, and maybe I'm a little glad because now you don't have to suffer through my snoring, but I'm also a little sad because the room's going to be so empty without you in it." Anya held out her hand, smirking. "So, here. Take this. Max got you a present."

Finny reached out, taking the dream catcher tenderly in her hands. It was beautiful, she decided quickly. As her fingers brushed over the velvety rope that bound it, she felt a spark of something- though she wasn't quite sure what it was.

Regina glanced at the dream catcher, her brows furrowing together. She'd never seen the dream catcher, but she was certain Emma told her about it once...  
Her eyes widened and she found her mouth falling open.

"W-where did you get that?"

Anya turned towards her, making a noise of confusion.

"From Max."

As Regina tilted her head to the side, Anya remembered that the mayor was never introduced to Max.

"He grew up in the orphanage with us. Came to visit." Anya raised her eyebrow to Alma and rolled her eyes, causing the older woman to laugh at some sort of unspoken joke. "Anyways, he came by with it as a present for Finny. You know how those things work, right? You hang it up on your wall and it filters out the good dreams from the bad. The bad dreams get caught in the webs and disappear by the light of the day."

Regina sighed, nodding slightly. She'd heard the story, though she doubted that it actually worked. In her world, Dream Catchers were used for viewing memories. They were one of the oldest forms of magic and only the elders, or decedents of the elders, of the land were allowed to own them. However, when the elders, known as the Ardans, were wiped out in a brutal war, all Dream Catchers were destroyed with them. There had been a tale that one of the babies managed to survive, rescued by a kind woman, and held the very last Dream Catcher in her possession.

But, if Max had come from across the town line, he probably just picked that one up at some convenient store.

"Well, Miss Mayor, we ought to leave," Finny stopped, glancing down at the floor. "Or, you know, whatever you want..."

This caused Regina to smile as she walked over, wrapping her arms around Finny and leading her to the door.

"You're right, Finny. Emma and Henry are expecting you." Regina rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "We're really going to enjoy having you there."

Finny nodded slightly, clutching the Dream Catcher closer to her heart.

* * *

Henry was utterly excited.

He was more than a bit afraid when Max showed his face in Storybrooke. He knew exactly who Max was, but that doesn't explain why he was so hostile. Max is his brother, just as Finny is his sister. But it was Max who chose to cling to Alma's side and leave to go to Snow's castle. It was Max who abandoned them. He didn't deserve Finny.

Emma looked over to Henry, smiling at his happiness.

"So, I take it you aren't upset? We didn't really ask your opinion about this. It just happened to fast and-"

"And agreeing to give her a place to stay was the easiest yes you've ever said in your entire life, right?" He smiled knowingly, smoothing out the bedsheets one last time.

It had to be perfect.

"Yeah, actually, it was. Well, the easiest yes so far in my life. I'm sure, in a couple of years,"

"Months." Henry interrupted.

"Months," Emma rolled her eyes jokingly. "I'll be faced with the easiest yes of my entire existence."

"Yeah, right. You'll be the one to propose, so it'll be Mom who's going to say 'yes'." He smirked.

The blonde scoffed, laughing softly.

"Who said I was talking about...that?" Her words came out louder than she meant them to be.

Too loud.  
Henry smiled and patted her arm.

"It's OK, Ma. There's no need to deny it."

Henry brushed past her, picking up Jade who was peeking around the door frame.

"It's a good thing you got Mom to agree to Jade. Finny would be devastated without her!" He brushed the cat softly, smiling wider when she began to purr.

"Yeah. She's a pretty cat, huh? Regina was talking about getting a pet..." Emma reached her hand out, replacing Henry's brushes with her own.

Henry looked up at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Jade isn't ours. Jade is Finny's. How about we get a nice dog or something to complement this cat?"

Emma chuckled.

"Good luck with that. Your Mom just wanted one, so when Finny goes back to the orphanage, we'll talk."

"If she goes back to the orphanage..." Henry muttered, placing Jade to the floor. She flounced over to the window will, jumping up and basking in the sunlight.

"What?" Emma twisted around, looking at him with a raised brow.

He smirked.

"Oh, nothing."

She made a face, obviously not believing him, but the sound of the front door opening caused them both to race for the doorway.

"We're home!"

Finny tensed. That word wasn't the best. She watched both Henry and Emma race down the stairs. She thought they'd stop at the bottom, but no. Henry ran straight for her, causing her to stumble backwards. She caught herself, hugging the boy back hesitantly.

"I'm glad you're OK, Finny. It was scary, watching you faint like that." He muttered, closing his eyes as he squeezed tighter.

"...I agree. It was scary." Finny smiled, feeling the heat rise into her cheeks.

And her forehead. And her chin. And her neck.

A sudden, strained meowing caused her to look over towards the stairs. Her smile grew wider as she noticed Jade hopping down them, staring straight at her. Finny glanced over to Regina, her eyes wide.

"We wanted you to enjoy your time here as much as we're going to enjoy your time here. Emma thought Jade was a key factor in that. I only agreed." The woman shrugged.

Finny looked to Emma, her face astounded.

"I-I can't believe you got Jade!"

Henry let her go, allowing her to run over and scoop the cat up into her arms. Finny glanced up to Emma, her eyes shining.

"T-thank you, Emma."

She stroked Jade gently, biting her bottom lip. Emma stared down at the girl, her face breaking out into her half-smile. Finny glanced down at the cat in her arms, her bangs covering her face as she tried to hide the bright red that bled through to the surface.

"Anytime, Kid."

She couldn't let this end up like last time. She just couldn't.

* * *

Belle shelved the book swiftly, trying to finish up in the library as early as possible. She knew that Ruby would come around and sit at a table to wait for her to finish, but today was special. Today was important.

Today was their very first date.

Belle bit her lip to stop the smile that she knew would split her whole face. She wasn't nervous about it, no. In fact, if she were perfectly honest, all those times they had 'girl's night' and ate at the diner or watched cheesy movies while eating gallons of ice cream together had felt like dates. This would be no different. And Belle liked it like that. It was simple and lovely and easy and...right.

"Belle,"

The voice made her jump and spin around, her hand flying up over her heart.

"O-oh!" She blinked, gasping.

There he was, in all his...glory? That wasn't the word she was looking for. In fact, it was far from the word she was looking for.

"R-Rumpelstiltskin."

He smiled cautiously, stepping forward. The sound of his cane made her tense.

"What are you...doing here?" Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "In fact, where exactly did you go?"

"I was off...collecting a few people. A...job, of sorts."

"A job?" She narrowed her eyes. "Who did you bring here? Actually, why? Does Regina know?"

He chuckled.

"No, Regina doesn't know. She'll be surprised when she finds out, though. She's...acquainted with them, to say the least. And they're not bad people. They just-"

"No, I don't want to hear it. What are you here for, Rumpel?" Belle interrupted him, crossing her arms.

"Why can't I be here? Last time I checked, we were dating."

"Yes, that's what I thought. At least it was, until you skipped town without even telling me. How did you get over the line without losing your memories?" Her eyes widened. "You've been making potions, haven't you?"

"You act like you don't care, yet you get upset that I'm using potions." He smirked.

"So you admit it then."

His head dropped, but only an inch.

"Belle-"

"No, no. Don't speak, Rumpel. You had all these chances...but you keep taking me for granted. I'm not some sort of...of...vessel, Rumpel. I'm not just an inanimate object that's here only when you want me. I'm a person. I have feelings and emotions and..." She stopped, shaking her head.

"And I stopped loving you a long time ago, I think."

He faltered, his eyes narrowing.

"What-"

"I stopped loving you as soon as Regina sent us here, actually. As soon as I saw you again, as soon as I remembered...I realized that time had eaten away and made me see that our love was not true. In fact, it was far from true."

"But you saw good in me, Belle! It's still there!" He pleaded, trying to get her to see.

"Yes, it is." She chuckled, smiling softly. "But...I see the good in everyone, Rumpel. I see good in you, but that doesn't make me the one for you. I made you see your self worth, so maybe...maybe you need to move on and find someone else."

He didn't respond, his face growing dark.

"It was that wolf, wasn't it?"

Belle was taken aback, her eyes widening.

"What- Ruby? She had nothing to do with this!"

"Yes, she did! She and that stupid Felicity that I'm promised to keep safe! I'd- I'd kill her, if I could!" He shouted, running a hand through his hair.

"What are you talking about?!"

Neither Belle nor Rumpel heard the library bell ring as the door opened. Ruby stood at the entrance, watching the scene play out. She had heard it all from the outside, almost dropping the bag in her hand that was full of food.

"It's her fault that that beast has tainted you with her love! It was her story- her memories," He glanced at Belle, frantically. "Why can't you see?"

Belle blinked. She remembered Alma's story. She remembered Felicity's mission. She just...

"I know all about Felicity, Rumpel. And my love for Ruby has nothing to do with it. My heart is my heart, and no one can change my feelings for you except for myself. And...I didn't really have a say in that, either. This is how I feel and you have to believe me when I say this," She mustered up the most serious face she could make as she spoke her next and final words. "Felicity had nothing to do with this."

Ruby felt her heart soar for the first time in a long time.

* * *

_The bus gave off a puff of smoke and let out a loud groan as it pulled off, leaving the girl on her own at the top of the long road. The girl didn't bother to watch it pull off; instead, she kept her head down and started walking quickly. The trees swayed above her, casting shadows on the ground. She lifted her arm, wiping her black sleeve over her eye, feeling the tears soak through the fabric. _

_A car rolled by and she knew, immediately, that she would be in trouble as soon as she reached her driveway._

_It hadn't been a very good day at school. She hated it with every fiber of her being. The people, the classes, the moving around from class to class. She just wanted to sit and draw or write or do anything else. Fourth period was the worse. She sat there, ridiculed by the entire class as the teacher stood by the door, allowing it to happen._

_She hated people. All people. _

_At the end of the day, she knew her mother would not show to pick her up. It would be up to her to, somehow, find a way home. So, she asked the principle, and he gave the bus driver a temporary route and allowed her to ride on it. That just added onto her agony, as she became the very last to be dropped off. She sat at the back of the bus, her hood over her head and her eyes watching the trees and houses pass by._

_As she neared her driveway, she saw the familiar figure leaning against the trunk of the car. Blue shirt, khaki pants, stern face. Her Mother. Or, at least, what was left of her. Her Mother told her a while back that she didn't love her. She was adopted and her mother wished she could just get rid of her. Another mouth to feed, to clothe, to house. Just a walking nuisance. _

_Her mother told her that she wasn't going to waste any more gas picking her up for school. It was her duty to find her way back to the house, but she had to be home before her mother got home. Otherwise..._

_"Finny! Where have you been?! Must be hanging around those girls you're so attracted to, huh?" _

_"N-no. I wasn't. The bus ran late. We had a few extra kids to take home-"_

_Finny's mother rolled her eyes, standing straight against the back of the car. The girl dropped her head, staring down at the wet pavement beneath her feet. They had only been at school for three hours before her principal came over the intercom, informing them that it was time to go home due to snow. _

_It was snowing._

_She looked back up, staring up at the sky. The flakes flurried around her, falling and sticking to the ground. If it were any other year before, she would smile at the sight. It was beautiful, but nothing special. There were many beauties in the world, but each one was masked with darkness and came with a price. For most kids her age, the sight of snowfall was amazing, but once it messed with their spring break schedules, it was suddenly hated._

_For Finny, Snow meant that she was stuck. Stuck at home with her family. Stuck with people who hated her guts, yet hid it with fake smiles and awkward pats on the shoulder._

_"I'm not saying you're lying, but I must punish you. To show Cayden that I'm serious about stuff like this, you understand?" _

_Finny nodded, her gaze dropping down to the faintly white ground. Cayden was her sister, the only one who still cared about her. The only one who still respected her and loved her. Cayden, who was never disciplined and was never given a single chore._

_"...Computer. It's gone for a week."_

_Finny flinched, but nodded anyways. The computer was her only escape from this horrible reality she found herself in._

_"Yes Ma'am." She spoke silently, shrugging her bag back up on her shoulder._

_Her mother nodded, turning and heading back towards the house._

_"Get the mail while you're out there, would you?" Her mother called over her shoulder, not looking back._

_Finny nodded, glancing over at the black mailbox. A package resting at the base of the mailbox grabbed her attention. She walked over slowly, the wind whipping her face. She pulled down the ears of her hat after she pushed on the bridge of her glasses, sliding them back up her nose._

_Coming closer to the box, she noticed her name labeled to the front in big, bold, black letters._

_'FINNY ANDERSON'_

_Her mouth formed a thin line as she tried to think of a new name. She reached into the box, pulling out bills and junk mail. A few magazines lay inside for her uncle, their shiny covers gleaming back at her. She grabbed those too and shut the lid, carefully balancing the box under her arm as she started running for the door._

_She ran inside the house, handing her Grandmother the mail before running towards the room she shared with her sister, hoping that Cayden wasn't in there as well. As soon as she entered the room, she sighed with happiness, realizing that no one was inside to glance at her package and threaten to take it away from her._

_Grabbing a pair of scissors that were resting on top of a dresser, she ripped through the duct tape that bound the cardboard flaps together. Inside, under several layers of foam pieces, lay a thick, leather binding to hold a book together._

_It was perfect. _

_She held it in her hands, running her fingers over the smooth material. Her smile widened at the golden lettering that was so perfectly embroidered onto it._

_'Once Upon A Time'_

* * *

_"So, what did Cora mean when she meant that you had much work you needed to do?"_

_Winny and I were in my room, sitting on my bed. I leaned against the headboard, my dress blanketing around me. Anya stood on the balcony, leaning on the rail as she peered outside. _

_"Oh, well, I'm like...well, it's really hard to explain. See, Cora has her own castle, and I'm meant to be her servant. But I come here so Alma can train me." Winny nodded, groaning. "But I'd much rather be sleeping! Anything other than cleaning and dusting and washing..." _

_I couldn't help but laugh. She smiled at me, shaking her head._

_"I'm serious! It's a definite problem." She ran her fingers through her hair. "There are a few other servants too. There's Nabal and Babel, who practically follow Isis around like two idiots. They worship the ground she walks on. You have Aviva, of course, who really doesn't say much. But she's one of Cora's most trusted servants, so it's best to steer clear of her,"_

_I couldn't help but frown at that revelation. Winny noticed, her eyes widening, but only continued speaking._

_"You have Isis' cat, Devin. She's actually a Human. Isis was looking for a pet one day, but wasn't able to find her. That's when this girl, whose name we don't really know, fell into her path. They say she was the most prettiest girl you ever would see. Because of that, Isis decided she wanted her pet to have that girl's grace and elegance. So, she simply cursed the girl and turned her into a cat. No one knows how to break the curse, however."_

_I nodded, smirking._

_"She could just...I dunno. Ask around?"_

_Winny nodded, rolling her eyes._

_"Isis is really just a big joke between all of us. Nabal and Babel are, too. The last servant is Rourke. He stays in the shadows and none of us have really seen him. But we hear him talking to Cora all the time. He comes out at night, usually while Isis is training. He's the equivalent of Aviva, except she comes out while you're training." Winny fell back onto the bed, throwing a rag over her face. "Anyways, that's it."_

_"Oh." I stare down at my hands, biting my lip. "What about Isis? Is she...nice?"_

_This made Winny laugh hysterically, though it also sounded sarcastic._

_"Absolutely not! And, if she is acting kind, then she's up to something. Or judging you. Or, heck, maybe she's doing both. You never really know." Winny hesitated, holding something back. "...she hates you, by the way. I have no idea what Cora told you, but that girl wants to have your head. You're so much better than her in skill and personality, and you're a total newbie."_

_"Newbie? I've...never heard that word before." _

_Winny laughed again, nervously this time._

_"Oh, yeah. Sorry. It means that you're new at all this. I forget you're not used to words like that. Heck, no one here really is. I'm not from around here."_

_The sleeve of her arm falls back a bit and I notice a scar, though I decide not to say anything._

_"Is Cora's castle the one that peeks over the mountains in the distance?" I couldn't help but ask this._

_"What's with all the questions?" Winny falls silent for a moment. "...forgot that you lost your memories. Sorry."_

_"It's okay." _

_"Anyways, no. That's not her castle. Actually, that's the kingdom that kidnapped you. Rumpelstiltskin took you, right? Well, he's from that place."_

_I frown._

_"It must not be the best place then."_

_"I wouldn't know. I've never been." _

_She sighs._

_"But I've always wanted to go."_

* * *

Jade stretched out on the porch, waving her stumpy cat legs in the air. She was tired of being in this form, though she did appreciate Emma, who had let her out of the house for some fresh air. Perhaps if she crept into the bushes, she could transform back into her Human body...

The sound of footsteps broke her from her thoughts. She immediately twisted around so she was on her back, her legs underneath her.

Oh. It was only that Ishai boy. But, on second thought...

Jade suddenly leapt from the warm spot on the porch onto the railing. She hissed, arching her back.

This wasn't Ishai. This boy carried a scent she hadn't smelt in a long time.

'Ishai' stopped, turning towards the cat.

"Oh, Devin." He smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I hadn't expected to see you here. This makes my plan much more easier."

'Plans?!' Jade hissed louder, her tail shooting up. 'He better not hurt Finny...'

The noise caused Regina to look outside, just to make sure Jade was alright. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the boy reaching out for the cat. She immediately opened the front door, stepping outside.

"Oh, hello. Who are you?"

This caused Ishai to pull his hand back, turning to stare at the woman who was addressing him.

"My name is Ishai. I'm here to see Finny, to make sure she's alright." He smiled, holding out a canteen of soup. "Alma sent me bearing this gift."

Regina sighed, nodding.

"You can come in, but only if you promise to stop terrorizing my cat."

"Yours?" Ishai smirked. "Anyway, I promise. I don't get along well with cats."

Regina nodded, smiling tersely. She opened her door wider, ushering him into the foyer.

"Wait here while I tell Finny she has a guest." Regina spoke as she started up the staircase.

Ishai smirked.

Perfect.

He entered Finny's door carefully, as if it was fragile. Peering in, he noticed that she was staring back at him, her face alert.

Ishai scowled, mentally kicking himself.

'Of course I'd choose the form of a person that she doesn't trust...!'

"H-hello?" The girl called from the bed, her voice soft and quiet. "Ishai?"

He stepped farther through the door, his scowl turning into a friendly smile.

"I come bearing a gift!" He held the canteen up in the air, shaking his hand and making the soup inside slosh around.

Finny immediately smiled, reaching out for it.

"It's from Alma, isn't it? Please tell her I said thank you. She'll never understand how much this means to me." Finny closed her hand around it, brushing Ishai's fingers. "Though, I'm not really sick. What flavor is it?"

"Chicken noodle. Your favorite."

Finny patted the edge of the bed, sitting up to lean against the headboard. Ishai sat down at the foot of the bed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"What did you come for? Well, you brought Alma's soup, so other than that."

Jade leapt up on Finny's windowsill. She knew this was a bad idea, but she had to watch them. Just to make sure Ishai didn't hurt her. Because that wasn't Ishai.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright. I haven't been around lately and I never really got to know you. But, trust me, I always liked you. I always wanted to be your friend. I just...never had a chance."

'Liar.' Jade thought, hissing the words inside of her head.

Finny tilted her head to the side. It looked like she wasn't quite buying it, either.

"Oh, really? Well..." She hesitated. "Maybe when I come back the orphanage, we can be friends or something."

Ishai reached forward, placing his hand on her own. She was twisting the bedsheets in her hands, the fabric coming through the middle of her fingers.

"Or...something more." He tilted his head, smiling.

Finny blinked, her eyes wide and her face red.

"No!" She exclaimed, squeezing her eyes together. Ishai pulled his hand back. "I-I'd rather us just be friends. If anything."

He leaned closer, smirking.

"Don't deny it, Finny. You know you-"

Finny made a noise, a look of absolute distress crossing over her face. Jade chose this moment to start mewing as loud as she could, scratching at Finny's window while making sure not to leave a mark. Finny immediately glanced over, relieved at the distraction. Untangling herself from the covers, she stumbled over, opening the window and lifting Jade over.

"Oh, Jade! You shouldn't be so high up! Cats may land on their feet, but I still worry about you..."

When she turned back around to ask Ishai to leave, she realized that he was gone.

Cora stood over Ishai's lifeless body, her hands on her hips.

"You're absolutely worthless to me! You have no relationship with her whatsoever! She could care less about you!"

Cora scowled, looking down at the crumpled paper in her hands.

'I'm the white rabbit.  
I'll help you find Felicity.'

That stupid boy. How dare he, lying to her like he did?! Did he not know who she was? The things she was capable of?

Even worse, she trusted him. She hadn't been planning on hurting him, but she was so angry after her talk with Finny that it just... happened.

"He was lying. That girl isn't Felicity."

She turned, walking away from his body with a sort of regal grace.

"But if she isn't, then who is?"

As she disappeared into thin air, she missed the moment when Ishai sat up, smiling brightly.

Anything to knock that witch off of the Princess' path. Even if it did mean losing his heart.

Even if he wasn't any sort of white rabbit.

* * *

_"We found him stealing from the kitchen pantry, your Majesty!"_

_I watched as the guard held up the boy. He had muscle on his arms and legs, but if he didn't have that, he'd be nothing but skin and bone. His skin was tan and his hair was a messy black. He stared at me, his brown eye shining. I bit my lip. Surely Queen Snow wouldn't put this boy off without any food. She didn't seem that heartless._

_"Anything to say to defend yourself?" James asked, gripping his throne._

_The boy's visage hardened._

_"I was only trying to get food for the orphans in my village. They have nothing."_

_"And what of you? Do you not have nothing as well?" Snow asked, cocking her head to the side._

_I glanced at Cora. She was staring at the boy, a scowl crossing her face. Aviva stood by her side, her hands behind her back and a black hood over her head. _

_It turns out, when around the public, Cora's lackeys have to wear a long black cloak and pull the hood up, hiding their face. The cloak was elegant and I, for some reason I couldn't fathom, I found myself longing for one as well. Aviva glanced up, her eyes shining in the darkness of the hood. I gave a ragged breath, looking back at the boy._

_"I do not matter. I've lived a long life and now, I must provide for them. I'm all they have." _

_Snow flinched, glancing over at James. His face hardened._

_"I understand that you must do as much as you can for the ones you love, but you cannot get away with trying to steal- from our royal castle, no less." James' face hardened, his jaw setting. "Dungeon. You'll remain there until we have a real punishment for you."_

_Cora smiled, nodding slightly._

_The boy looked down, chuckling softly. The guards grabbed him again, pushing him back towards the door._

_"I merely expected you to have enough to share."_

_I didn't want him to be punished._

_"Wait!" I couldn't stop the words, my whole body twisting to look up at James. "If he's all they have, then they will suffer while he's locked up. Don't punish the children. They did nothing wrong. In fact, I don't see what he did wrong, either. He was only trying to provide for his loved ones in their time of need. Perhaps you find some understanding in that, King Charming? Find him a job, so he can make an honest living. Anything to help him out..."_

_He glanced down at me, his face softening._

_"Felicity, it is not up to you-"_

_"I agree with her, James." Snow stood, stepping down the stairs that lead to her throne and walking towards the boy. She gestured to the guards and they immediately dropped him. "What is your name?"_

_"My name is Aladdin." He bowed, his hair falling into his eyes. He brushed it away quickly._

_She smiled softly, brushing her fingers over his face._

_"You're not much older than Felicity. Only by a year, am I right?" She asked, holding her head up and giving a knowing look._

_"Yes, your Majesty. I'm seventeen." _

_She scoffed._

_"You say you've lived, but you're not even hardly grown yet, in my opinion." She turned back to her husband, smiling. "We were looking for a new knight, were we not? Train him, my love. I'm sure he's worth something."_

_Aladdin looked over at me, his eyes wide and shiny. I glanced down, my face turning red. Jame smiled, giving a slight nod of approval._

_"Y-your Majesty...!" He exclaimed, biting his lip._

_"No, no. Aladdin, please take this job. We'll pay you and we'll make sure those orphans of your have a place to rest their head and food on the table. You're right. We should be able to share."_

_He gasped, nodding._

_"Of course I'll take it!" He bowed lower and slower, with much more gratitude. "I won't fail you, I promise." _

_Behind her hood, Aviva smiled, her ear twitching. The dream catcher began to glow and time began repairing itself. She'd certainly have to tell Alma of how Felicity saved both this boy and all the several orphans he watched over. _

_And Alma would agree with her that Felicity had just opened up a long sequence of events that will eventually lead to her reason for being._

_Felicity was born to die._


	6. How Finny Likes It

**This chapter is all about Finny and her past. Not much to say other then, 'I hope you enjoy it!'. :)**

* * *

Archie Hopper may have gotten his license from a curse, but he was good at what he did. Helping people with their problems and giving them advice was all so simple.

But it was only simple if the person receiving the advice was willing to take it.

As he sat across from the girl in front of him, he stumbled over his words, trying his hardest to get her to talk. He noticed the way she played with the sleeves of her jacket or the way she bit her lip or even the way she tapped her foot on the ground every so often. He noticed the way she looked down slightly at the mention of her dreams and the way her left eye twitched when he tried to bring up her past.

Finny Anderson was the very first patient he had ever encountered who refused to speak to him.

He considered himself a humble, kind man. He tried to be considerate and understanding of everyone, unable to judge them. People took to him, opening themselves up and expressing themselves in ways that they couldn't do with anyone else. This job came natural to him. But, with Finny, it was difficult. He found himself stumbling and searching for words as he tried to mesh them into sentences which he stuttered through. Her gaze was unnerving and hard, though her eyes shined with a sort of plea. It was the kind of plea that made him decide that he wasn't going to give up.

"Finny..." He glanced at the clipboard in his hand. "You're obviously not good at trusting people. Am I right?"

Her eyes widened and she found herself nodding slightly.

"Right. Well, if this is going to work, you need to learn how to trust me." He smiled softly. "So why don't you ask me some questions about myself?"

He internally cringed. There wasn't much he could tell her other than, oh yeah, he was once a cricket. Which is honestly ironic, considering his name.

She tilted her head, smirking.

"I-I'd rather not."

That was the first thing she had said during the whole session. He let out a relieved sigh, smiling. Her voice was as soft and quiet as he had expected it to be.

"That's alright. Just know, you can trust me." He leaned forward slightly, his face turning serious. "Now, Finny. I really need you to let some things go. Anything you want. Just...I'm here for you."

Finny nodded slightly, biting her lip once again. Archie sighed, figuring this wasn't going to go anywhere.

He was surprised when she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Today would have been my sister's birthday. She would've been twelve." She hid behind her bangs, staring at the floor.

"So it's been two years since you've lost her?"

She nods slightly, her head lifting back up.

"Yeah, almost. It was just a day before my fifteenth birthday when I lost...them." Finny smiled slightly. "She would've wanted a box full of stuffed animals. She always did. Her dream was to become a veterinarian. I mean, I know almost all kids go through that stage, but it was her passion. _Animals_."

A small laugh escapes Finny, her eyes shining.

"I was always so proud of her. She excelled in her school work and..." The girl stopped, thinking. "My sister was kind. Yeah, she was. But she was..."

She stopped completely, as if the next words were forbidden for her to say.

"She was my mother's everything. Once she was born, I slowly became nothing but the unwanted child my mother had adopted because she thought that she wasn't able to have children."

Archie cocked his head to the side.

"Your mother couldn't have children?"

Finny shook her head.

"No. I was adopted. Only a couple years after they got me, my mother found out that she was pregnant. The fact that she was carrying her own child..." She chuckled. "It made her shine. I could never make her shine as much as Cayden did. Every time I did something wonderful, my sister did something _spectacular_. As I got older, my mom just...detached herself from me. I was nothing but a burden that lived under her roof."

Archie nodded, his brows furrowing.

"After a while, she practically said screw it, as soon as you turn eighteen, you better be out of my life. I'm not taking you to school, find your own way there. I'll give you food, clothing, and a roof over your head, but you had better appreciate it."

"How did that impact you?"

"How did that impact me? How else?" Finny grabbed at the fabric of the jacket which rested above her wrist. "But it got worse when...someone told her about my sexuality. My whole family was Christian. They were against the things that I stood for. I mean, if my mom could get rid of me right then, she would have. To be honest, I don't know what stopped her."

Archie glanced at the clock, realizing that her session was coming to a close.

"How did they die?"

He hadn't meant to ask that. Not so early off in their sessions. He sat across from Finny, watching her walls build back up around her as she twisted the fabric, her eyes widening. She shrugged.

When, really, she remembered it all too vividly.

But it was something she didn't want to remember. Not now. Not ever.

* * *

_Finny's eyes shot open, a cold sweat dripping from her skin. _

_All she could see was that woman's face._

_She turned her head, watching the steady rise and fall of her sister's chest as she slept in the bed on the other side of the room. Her gaze shifted to the leather bound book that sat on her bedside table._

_She needed to write._

_Grabbing the book and the pencil that rested on top, she silently lefts the room. She crept through the hallway carefully, trying her hardest not to wake anyone else up. Passing the printer paper, she grabbed a couple pieces and quickly made her way into the living room. She held her head as she fell onto the couch, a headache shooting pains throughout her whole body. The pencil started scribbling on the blank page and she glanced down at it, barely recognizing the handwriting that decorated the paper._  
_Once she was finished, she grew amazed at the psychotic fairytale she had written. Was that even a fairytale? Did it count as one? A sudden banging in the kitchen made her jump. She quickly shoved the paper in between the leather binding, not thinking about what she was doing._

_"Oh, Felicity." Her mother spoke from the doorway. "I was trying to find your book so I could seal the binding. Doing some last minute touch ups?"_

_"Yeah...wanted to make sure the drawings were perfect."_

_"Oh, they're as perfect as faceless people can get. It's too late to fix it now."_

_Finny frowned. Of course. It was only as perfect as she thought it was. But this was the woman who begrudgingly agreed to put it all together. Finny had to be polite._

_Plus, if she wasn't polite, she wouldn't have a home._

_"Here." She handed her mother the book, silently wishing that the paper wouldn't fall out._

_There was no way to get the story back now._

_Finny flicked on the TV, watching some infomercial. Surprisingly, she and her mother used to be close. Now, there's only silence and, if her mother was in a bad mood, anger._

_After a few scenes of a woman attempting to chop up a salad with the usual cutting board, her mother handed the book to her._

_"Thank you." Finny managed a smile._

_Her mother didn't respond. Instead, she only stood and left the room silently. Like always._

_Finny didn't cry this time. She just sat there, hypnotized by the flashes of color on the TV. Her finger rested on a small bump beneath the leather, hardly recognizable. Strangely, she felt heat radiating from it, off and on and off and on._

_It was like a heartbeat that she would never feel again._

* * *

_School was always amazing. It was a place where she could escape and be with people who actually cared about her. The classes were easy, minus Geometry, which she was surprised she even passed. First was World History, then Gym, then German, and, finally, lunch. _

_Lunch, the only time of day that stuck a giant smile on her face._

_She sat at a square lunch table, her closest friends surrounding her. Starting with Finny, they went in order from right to left: Finny, Christina, Devin, Amanda, Taylor, Kyndall, Makayla, and, finally, Martha.  
_

_This was exactly the way Finny liked it._

_She was always the first one to sit down at the lunch table, considering she brought her own lunch. It was nothing spectacular; just a bag of crackers and a bottle of water. It didn't take much to fill her up._

_So, as she sat down, placing her bag on the table in front of her, she was a little more than worried when Christina grabbed her arm and pulled her back up out of her seat. Her eyes were shining and her brows were scrunched up in something unreadable._

_"Finny, can I talk to you in the bathroom for a second?" Her voice said much more than her visage did. _

_"Yeah, sure." _

_Finny allowed her best friend to clasp her hand, pulling her towards the bathroom._

_"Though, Christina, if it's privacy you're looking for, you aren't going to find it in there." Finny chuckled, glancing over at the girl._

_Christina shook her head, smiling slightly._

_"I cleared everyone out before I came to get you. They promised me at least six minutes, so we have to hurry."_

_Finny smiled wider, rounding the bathroom door. That wasn't surprising in the least. Christina wasn't big or bulky. She didn't have muscles and she wasn't tall. Her voice wasn't mean and laced with hate. No, she was an average girl. Black hair, large, doe eyes, and a beautiful smile. She was a pretty girl who wasn't intimidating in the least. At least, that's how she was on the outside. In reality, she could get anything she wanted by just narrowing her eyes. She was something majestic; something spectacular._

_Or, at least, that's how she seemed to Finny._

_Christina walked them to the farthest end of the bathroom, sitting herself on a sink. Finny rested against the wall, looking at Christina quizzically._

_"What's up, Squanto?" _

_Christina made a noise of approval at the nickname._

_"Firstly, happy one day before your birthday!" She smiled brightly, though it looked forced._

_Finny's eyebrows furrowed._

_"Christina, what's wrong?"_

_The girl sighed, resting her head against the mirror above the sink._

_"I have...to tell you something."_

_Finny smirked._

_"Well, obviously, or we wouldn't be in here."_

_Christina shot her a look._

_"No jokes!"_

_Finny put up her hands in a mock defense._

_"Alright, alright."_

_Christina looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap._

_"I have some good news and some bad news. Though, the good news could also be bad news, depending on how you take it." She took a deep breath, looking back up at Finny._

_"I'm moving to California over Christmas break. I won't be back after the holidays." She stared down at Finny, her face crestfallen._

_No._

_Finny shook her head, stepping forward. Christina jumped off the sink, meeting her in the middle. Christina wrapped her arms around her friend, allowing Finny to burrow her face into the crook of her neck._

_"But there's good news, too!" Christina tried to pep the other girl up. "I'll be back next year. We'll meet again, my little Peanut!" _

_"That's the good news?" Finny moaned, trying to pull away. Christina held on tighter, shaking her head._

_"No, I just said that to make you feel better." She giggled._

_"Then what's the good news?"_

_Finny felt Christina bite her lip. The girl finally pulled away, reaching for her bag._

_"First off, here's your Christmas/birthday combo present." She handed Finny a wrapped package._

_Finny ran her fingers over it tenderly._

_"I left you a Christmas present in your locker."_

_"How did you even get the combination?" Christina laughed._

_Finny winked._

_"I have my ways."_

_"Well, what is it?" Her eyes widened, shining._

_"You'll have to find out. Now, do I open this tomorrow, on Christmas, or...?" Finny teased, raising an eyebrow._

_"Now, you Idiot!" Christina smiled brightly, bouncing on her feet._

_"Alright, alright. Chill." Finny laughed, ripping the paper quickly._

_The first thing she saw a giant heart and bright, blonde buns. _

_Correction. They're odangos. _

_Finny shrieked, pulling out the Sailor Moon jacket. She immediately put it on, the long black sleeves engulfing her hands. Christina chuckled when she noticed it, the tears in her eyes almost becoming unbearable. Finny glanced up at her, tears streaking her cheeks._

_"F-Finny!" Christina gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth._

_"Sorry. But my gift could never be as amazing as this. I-I'll really miss you," Finny choked back a sob, covering her eyes with the sleeves of the jacket._

_Christina immediately gathered the smaller girl into her arms, the force shoving them back onto the wall._

_"Here's the good news, Stupid." Christina whispered, mumbling into Finny's ear. "I - "_

_A sudden cough came from the entrance of the bathroom. Finny looked up, her eyes wide. Christina let go, turning to look at the figure advancing towards them._

_"Oh, am I interrupting something?" The girl spoke, walking to the sink Christina had been sitting on. "Sorry, but I'm not sorry."_

_"Oh, butt out, Danyell." Christina sighed, grabbing her purse in one hand and Finny's hand in the other. "I don't want to hear your voice right now."_

_Danyell merely scoffed, fixing her hair in the mirror._

_"I heard you're moving. When were you planning on telling me?"_

_"Never. I was just going to surprise you by not showing up to school, obviously.." Christina responded, making her way towards the door._

_"We used to be best friends, Christina. What happened?" Danyell asked, mocking a frown as she turned to look at the two other girls. She took a step forward._

_"You turned into a bitch, that's what." Christina growled, stepping in front of Finny protectively._

_"Oh, come on! Before you met Finny, we were so close!" _

_"Correction: Before you screwed Finny over, we were close. No one gets to treat her that way and get away with it."_

_"I didn't do anything to her other than not reciprocate her feelings." _

_"Yeah. Sure. And you went around, telling all her secrets to people. And you led her on. And you rejected her by shoving some guy's love letters to you under her nose and calling him your boyfriend!" Christina shouted, turning and pulling Finny through the door._

_Finny blinked, unable to take her eyes off of Danyell's smirking face._

_"She deserved it. And her mother deserved to know."_

_This caused Christina to stop in her tracks, her head turning around slowly._

_"...what?" _

_Finny's head fell. Christina looked at Finny, finally noticing how tired the girl looked. Finally noticing how broken the girl was. Finally willing to admit the fact that Finny's eyes seem to scream out in unspoken pleas every time they met hers._

_"Finny...your mom knows?"_

_Christina placed her hands on Finny's shouders. Finny nodded stiffly, refusing to look up. Danyell laughed, her hands on her hips._

_"Oh, so she didn't take it too well, huh?"_

_Christina's worried gaze turned into pure anger as she shot her head up towards Danyell._

_"You little - " She began, snarling her words. _

_"No, Christina. I wouldn't do that. Lunge at me and maybe I'll tell your mom, too."_

_"Tell my mom...what?" _

_"I'll tell your mom that you're exactly like Finny. And that you only have eyes for her."_

_Christina bit her tongue, grabbing Finny's hand once again._

_"C-come on, Finny. Lets get out of here."_

_Christina led Finny though the door, silently thanking Finny for standing with her in the bathroom. If Finny hadn't been in there, she wouldn't have been able to hold herself back._

_As they walked back to the lunch table, Finny finally looked up, smiling gently. Christina's eyes widened at the sight, a faint blush rising up into her cheeks._

_"I only have eyes for you too, Squanto."_

* * *

_It was Creative Writing that Finny dreaded._

_Creative Writing was one of her strongest subjects. She loved the flow of the pencil as she wrote. She love the feeling of creating a new story; of creating new characters and scenarios. She loved plot twists and cliffhangers. She loved writing. It was easy. It was freeing. _

_But when you had a class with Danyell Gregory two seats over, with her high pitch voice and all her boy toys around her, you were certain to leave the class with a major headache._

_Finny turned around, narrowing her eyes at her friend Keri. It was ten minutes before the bell and, like every other day, the teacher ended the lesson early._

_"What was up with Christina during lunch? She didn't even get lunch. She just ate most of your crackers." Keri asked, putting the paper in her binder._

_"Well, there really wasn't any time for her to get lunch." Finny replied, lulling her head around on her shoulders._

_"Yeah, you guys took so long in the bathroom." Keri snickered. Finny shot her a look. "She was telling you that she's moving, right?"_

_Finny nodded._

_"It's a travesty, really. We just started hanging out with her at the beginning of the year." Keri continued. "And, when you think about it, she had been in our class last year. Wasted time, ya know?"_

_Finny bit her lip, nodding. "I agree."_

_Keri stared at her friend for a long moment before smiling slyly._

_"You like Christina, don't you?"_

_The result of Finny's eyes widening was enough proof that she was right. Keri started laughing, waving her hand as if it was nothing. Finny shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing._

_"You have to promise not to tell anyone!"_

_Keri smiled, nodding._

_"I promise. When have I ever told your secrets?" She glanced down at her phone as the bell rung, all the other kids getting up from their seats and heading out of the door. "My mom wants to know if you want a ride home."_

_Finny smiled._

_"Yeah! I'd love one."_

_"Miss Anderson, will you please come here for a moment?" Mrs. Reese spoke from her desk, raising her voice over the loudness of her peers._

_Finny turned around, smiling widely. _

_"Yes, of course!"_

_Finny walked over, twisting her bracelets on her wrists nervously._

_"Yes, Mrs. Reese?" She asked quietly, averting the teacher's eyes._

_"First off, stop with your bracelets, Finn. You're not in any trouble." The teacher smiled, resting her hand on Finny's. Finny smiled shyly, letting go of the bracelet. _

_The teacher relaxed, crossing her hands in her lap as she slouched in her chair._

_"I called you up here because of your project. You went above and beyond, Finny."_

_"...is that alright? Is it any good?" Finny asked nervously, leaning against the desk._

_The teacher ran her hand over the leather cover of the book, the embroidered, golden words shining against her metallic bracelet._

_"It's better than good. This book is brilliant!" She smiled brightly, praising the girl. Finny blushed, ducking her head._

_"I only asked you to take a twist on your favorite fairytail but, Finny, you did so many that I haven't even finished reading yet!"_

_"Well, it was really easy. You assigned the project on the first day of class at the beginning of the school year and told us that it was our final grade, and I took a lot of interest in it. So I started right away. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect." Finny bit her lip. "How were the illustrations?"_

_Mrs. Reese smiled warmly. _

_"They were perfect. I think leaving them faceless was a much needed feature. The stories are already so twisted and dark, so the lack of faces made it even more ominous." _

_Keri watched Finny from her seat, contemplating whether she should go over or stay seated, waiting on the girl. She had noticed the way Finny had been acting for a while now. She was as shy and quiet as ever, but she just seemed so tired. She was constantly yawning and there were thick bags under her eyes. Her glasses managed to cover them up somewhat, but once you got a look beneath them, you'd be shocked at how dark they were. Keri knew Finny's mother; her mother and Finny's had been best friends when they were in school. Finny's mother was always so kind and caring. She never let Finny go out in the cold without the appropriate attire, she always either packed Finny a lunch or gave her lunch money, and allowed the girl to go on field trips and always gave her praise for all her high grades._

_Or, at least, that's what Finny told her._

_But for the past two years, Finny came to lunch sporting nothing but crackers and water.  
_

_"It doesn't take much to fill me up, no worries!"_ 'I don't eat much.'

_For the past two years, Finny's grades declined drastically._

_"I barely passed geometry. I'll do better this semester! Or, at least, I'll try." _'Why does it even matter anymore?'

_For the past two years, Finny has been dressing down during the winter months, her clothes much more flimsier and thin.  
_

_"I'm not even cold, I promise." _'I have nothing else to wear.'

_For the past two years, Finny had been growing more and more tired._

_"I'm just not sleeping well. Jeez, I should try getting to bed earlier." _

'The nightmares won't spare me.'

* * *

_As soon as Finny watched Keri's mom pull from her driveway, she turned back towards her house, accessing the situation._

_Something wasn't right._

_Keri's mother had insisted that they stop by the pizza place for a couple slices. Finny tried to tell her no, that she hadn't brought any money, but the loud moan of her belly told the older woman otherwise. Much like her daughter, Mrs. Bradley knew Finny well. Finny wasn't very hard to read, but most people over looked her story. It didn't seem like a very good one. _

_But, since Keri's mother insisted on pizza, Finny now stood in her driveway an hour later than the time she was supposed to be home. Her mother should be waiting outside, ready to punish her. But, today...she wasn't._

_Something was truly wrong._

_Walking to the carport door, Finny raised her hand, ready to knock, but a slight crack in the wooden door made her stop._

_The door was already open._

_She took a deep breath, looking back towards the road. If she started walking now, she'd never have to come back. She'd never have to face the danger that she knew might be inside her house at this very moment. Cursing her mother momentarily for refusing to get her a cell phone, Finny opened the door, regretting every step._

_If there was a time to go out, it would be right now._

_She stepped into the kitchen cautiously, leaving the door open behind her. If anything was going to get her, it would've heard her by now. Her grandmother had placed bells on the doorknob decades ago. _

_She stepped into the dining room, glancing to the back door. It was wide open, a slight breeze wafting through it. She shivered at the coldness of December, snuggling deeper into her new jacket. _

_She could hear the sound of the TV blaring in the den and the sound of the TV on in her grandmother's bedroom. Her uncle's door was closed and she heard the sound of Super Smash Brothers coming from the TV in the bedroom that she shared with her sister._

_Everything was perfectly normal, yet nothing was right._

_She placed her school books and her bag on a chair, silently taking off her jacket and creeping into the living room._

_"Mom?" _

_There was no response._

_"Hello? Anyone home?" Finny tried again, calling the words as she rounded the corner._

_As the saw the sight that waited for her when she finally emerged in the room, she wished she had never come inside the house to begin with._

_Suddenly, she felt a piercing sensation in her shoulder. She tried twisting around, to see what was causing this, but something held her back._

_And that's when she realized that it must be a knife. And she must be about to die._

_The knife sliced its way from her shoulder down her arm and, finally, to her hand. She screamed in antagonizing pain, her knees giving out as the blade pulled away._

_She finally turned her head, but saw nothing behind her. She glanced down at her arm, flinching at all the blood. Standing, she ran to the phone, calling the police. She grabbed her mother's thick jacket off of the couch, trying to put pressure on the wound, but she found it difficult to do so._

_She closed her eyes, breathing sharply._

_She didn't want to look at her mother._

* * *

_Her mom was on the couch, the TV remote in her hand. Dead._  
_Her sister was on their bed, all her dozens of stuffed animals around her and the game controller in her hands. Dead._

_They didn't tell her what happened to her uncle or her grandmother, but she saw their body bags._

_She was taken straight to the hospital where she finally passed out. Maybe if she just closed her eyes, all the pain and the fresh images of her dead mother would disappear._

_After what seemed to be a very long time, she woke up. Her arm was in a sling, bandages wrapped all the way around it._

_The Doctor came in later and told her that she'd have to learn how to use her arm again._

_After she was discharged from the hospital, and after she graduated from a few serious classes of physical therapy, the police took her into interrogation with several questions that she remembered perfectly._

_"Where were you at the time of the murder?"_

'With my friend and her mom, getting pizza.'

_"You're adopted. Did you know your real parents?"_

'No.'

_"Do you think they could have anything to do with is?"_

'I didn't know them.'

_"Did you get along with your family?"_

'No.'

_"...did you kill them?"_

'I wasn't home.'

_They sighed, closing the file that was laid in front of her, pictures of her dead family strewn about._

_"Do you have anywhere else to go? A dad, maybe?"_

'Dad's dead. He was an orphan, but unlike me, he didn't escape the system. He didn't have a family.'

_The cop's head cocked to the side._

_"What happened to your dad?"_

'Shot. He was in the army.'

_The cop nodded, his jaw setting. Finny glanced down at the glass of water that was on the table in front of her. She was thirsty, but she didn't want to drink._

_"We'll treat you really good, Miss Finny. We'll catch this murderer and put him away so you can live in safety."_

_Finny nodded, only half listening to the cop. They ushered her out of the room, leading her to the evidence locker. Her things sat on a table, a kind looking woman standing beside of it. As soon as Finny stepped forward, the woman gathered her in her arms. _

_"They're all your things. Take what you want, leave the rest here, and come back for it later, okay?"_

_Finny nodded, her hand reaching for her jacket._

* * *

_Christina practically sprinted to her locker at the end of the day, her grin so wide that it looked like it was splitting her face. She twisted the lock quickly and yanked it off, pulling the door open roughly._

_A bag sat at the very bottom of the locker. Christina let out a loud laugh, bending down to pick up the bag. _

_Nicolas Cage's face was cut out and glued to both sides of the blank, white bag. 'Merry Christmas, Christina!' was written in purple ink on both sides of the bag. She noticed a few people giving her weird stares, but she could honestly care less. Reaching inside, she smiled as her hand hit something plastic. Scratch that- something plastic and something almost...velvety?_

_She pulled out the plastic bag, smiling brightly at the sour patch kids. Next, she pulled out the velvety box, flipping it open._

_Inside she found two things: a charm bracelet and a necklace._

_The necklace was a simple locket, the Italian flag on one side and the other side held a picture of a dragon. A note was attached to the clasp, Finny's handwriting bleeding through in sharpie:_

_'Hopefully this Italian flag wasn't in vain. Make your dreams come true and go one day, Squanto! Change out the pictures in the locket anytime you want. I won't get mad, I promise. Also, I got you a charm bracelet because bracelets are quite nifty and I wanted to add to your collection. I got you one charm to start you off. Now, you better like all this, because I saved up many a Christmas and birthday money just for this. ;) Merry Christmas. -Peanut'_

_Christina stared at the note for a few seconds, biting back a smile._

_She glanced at the charm bracelet, delicately rubbing the charm between her thumb and index fingers.  
_

_"Hey, nice bracelet." _

_Christina turned, smiling up at Martha._

_"Isn't it? Finny got it for me." Christina started putting her books up after she placed the bracelet on her wrist. "You going anywhere for Christmas break?"_

_Martha nodded._

_"Yeah, I'm going to my aunt Alma's. She runs an orphanage, so it should be pretty chill."_

_"Oh, that's really cool. Finny would like that."_

_Martha laughed._

_"Yeah, I bet."_

_They started down the hallway, Christina unable to stop messing with the charm on her bracelet._

_It was a dream catcher._

* * *

Finny glanced up at the the doorway as Regina entered the room, smiling softly.

"How's it going, Doctor Hopper?" She asked, folding her hands across her chest.

Archie glanced over at Finny, smiling.

"Patient confidentiality, Regina. You should know that."

Regina nodded, rolling her eyes.

"Right, right. C'Mon, Finny. You'll start back to school tomorrow, but we have one more place we have to go. Doctor Hopper, you're coming with us."

He raised his eyebrow.

"Am I? What if I have other patients - "

"Archie, you know I'm usually your only patient on Tuesdays. Now, come along. We have somewhere to be."

0

Aurora sat in the chair across from the couch, where she knew Finny would be seated. She twiddled her thumbs nervously. Her story hadn't been shared before; not with anyone except Mulan and Snow.

"Aurora, are you sure you're okay with this?" Mulan asked, coming up behind the chair and massaging Aurora's shoulders reassuringly.

"Yes. I'll do anything to help another person through what I went through. Plus, I'm sure I'll be fine as long as you're by my side." Aurora smiled up at her wife, allowing the other woman to lean down and plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

The residents had been surprised when Aurora and Mulan had appeared in Storybrooke several months ago, wearing matching bands. Emma questioned their journey, asking if they had found Phillip, but the only responses were 'Yes' and 'I don't wish to talk about it'.

The sound of a car parking outside of their house broke them from their reverie.

"Here we go." Aurora sighed, watching Mulan make her way to the door to let them in.

The sight of Finny threw Aurora off guard.

She hadn't expected someone so...young. She smiled at the girl, motioning for the seat across from her. Finny sat, both Archie and Regina sitting on either side of her. Mulan smiled at Finny as she took her stand against the wall, observing everything. Finny smiled back, though it was obvious she was nervous.

"Hello. You must be Finny?" Aurora started.

Finny nodded.

"My name's Aurora."

"That's a pretty name..." She heard Finny mutter under her breath.

"Why, thank you. Finny isn't bad, either. Is it short for something?"

Aurora could've sworn she saw Finny nod, but decided not to press the issue.

"You've been having nightmares, right?"

Finny nodded, her face serious.

"Alright, so, when did they start occurring?"

Finny was quiet for a moment, thinking.

"...well, to be honest, I've always had nightmares. The nightmares caused me to write, at first. But then..." She glanced down at her left arm. "Things happened. On my way over to Maine, I started having nightmares that I could actually remember. And I don't mean, like, vaguely remembering. I remember these dreams so well that they're almost like memories. But they got the worse when I first arrived in Storybrooke."

"You just called them dreams."

"They're not nightmares but they're not dreams. When you wake up from a nightmare, you're filled with the reassurance that it wasn't real. But when I wake up, I'm not reassured in the slightest. Because they're memories. Not dreams, not nightmares, but memories."

Aurora's eyes widened.

"Have you heard something like that before?" Regina asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Heard it? I lived it. I slept through it." Aurora responded, scoffing.

Finny cocked her head to the side, but didn't question it.

"How did you rid yourself of it?" Regina asked, folding her hands in her lap.

Aurora shrugged.

"I simply...woke up."

Regina rolled her eyes. Mulan smiled.

"Obviously. But, how? How did you 'wake up'?"

"Well, Phillip kissed me the first time, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about." Aurora turned her head to Finny, her brows furrowed. "Have you been placed under a sleeping spell recently?"

Finny's eyes widened.

"S-sleeping spell?" Finny gulped nervously. "I don't think so."

"If she had been placed under a sleeping spell, then she'd have horrible nightmares. And, if we're going to go that route, then Finny just simply needs to confront her past. The nightmares should leave." She disregarded the younger girl, instead speaking directly to Regina.

"My past?" Finny scrunched her eyebrows together. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, if you're going through the same thing that I was going through, then you need to confront the past, like I did. Have you been having hallucinations?"

"Hallucinations..." Finny stopped for a second, remembering how she imagined Mary Margret and David as Queen Snow and King Charming. "Yeah, just a little."

"They'll start getting worse and then they'll get sparse again. After that, once you've confronted the past, you'll go back to normal." Aurora smiled, reaching out and placing her hand over Finny's.

"The past..." Finny blinked, her bangs falling in front of her face. "I'd rather just live with the hallucinations."

Archie frowned.

"We need to make you better, Finny. Anything it takes. We'll all be here to help you out."

* * *

_They caught the man who killed her parents._

_It was mid-spring and Finny was bent over her textbooks, reading about WWII. The special agent walked through the doors of the safe house, a wide smile spread across his face._

_It was good news._

_Finny had regained some uses of her arm, but it was still hard to do the important things. She could now wash her hair by herself, which was good considering how awkward it was when the female agent had to come in and help her._

_They told her she was being sent to some woman named Alma. She ran some sort of orphanage. But, before she was sent to Alma, she was allowed to go back to school one last time. The agents were allowing her to wrap up any incomplete endings._

_Finny was truly excited, though her face didn't show it._

_0_

_She didn't notice the way they stared at her as she entered the school._  
_She didn't notice the way they stared at her as she took her seat in the auditorium, waiting on the bell to ring so she could get to class._

_Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mrs. Reese enter the auditorium doors. As soon as the teacher spotted her, she quickly walked over, smiling brightly._

"Come on, Finny. There are a few things I should tell you, before the bell rings."

Finny stood, allowing the woman to lead her back to her classroom. As soon as she entered through the door, the teacher gathered her into a tight hug.

_"Oh, Finny!"_

_Finny blinked, softly hugging the woman back._

_Mrs. Reese pulled back, tears in her eyes._

_"I heard what happened. All of us teachers did. It's- it's -"_

_"Horrible."_

_Finny turned, her eyes shining as she found herself in yet another hug. Martha pulled her into her arms, squeezing her even tighter than Mrs. Reese had._

_"I missed you, Finn."_

_Finny nodded, burrowing her head into Martha's shoulder._

_Mrs. Reese wrung out her hands, biting her lip. Martha looked up, her eyes filled with worry._

_"However, Finny, there is something that we need to warn you about..." The teacher ushered them further inside, closing the door and locking it behind them._

_Martha let go of Finny, but kept her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. Finny glanced at Mrs. Reese expectantly, twisting the sleeves of her jacket._

_"There have been rumors going around about you. Sick rumors. Us teachers tried to stop them considering we knew the truth, but they spread like wildfire. Now, no one knows who started them, but - " _

_"It was Danyell. That bitc- "_

_"Now, Martha, you don't know that." Mrs. Reese raised her eyebrow, smirking. _

_Finny glanced down, trying to find the words she was looking for._

_"Wh - " This was the first time she had spoken since she got her jacket from that evidence locker. "What did people say?"_

_She kept her head down, her bangs covering her eyes._

_Martha tensed._

_"You ought to explain this, Martha. I'm only a teacher here. You're a student. You're faced with these things everyday." Mrs. Reese sat at her desk, folding her hands in her lap._

_"Well, they mostly said things about your sexuality. You'd think people would be more accepting about it and everything, but people really suck. There was something going around that you eloped with Christina. A couple people claimed that your mom found out about your sexuality and sent you to a Catholic school. Once, I head someone saying that you were holding Christina captive in your basement as a sex slave and you had gotten caught, but instead of getting locked up, your mom ended up...agreeing to it. Your mom ended up using Christina too." Martha's eyebrows furrowed together._

_"There are a lot of other things that are much, much worser than these. But since Christina left it on the down low that she was moving to California, they connected you to her. No one ever found out about the truth."_

_Finny nodded, dropping the sleeve of her jacket._

_"Did you believe them? How did you find out about what really happened?" Finny glanced up at her over her glasses. _

_Martha smiled softly._

_"No, Dude! Why would I believe them? I knew you, Finn. They didn't. Anytime I heard someone talking about it, I instantly defended you." She petted Finny's head, ruffling her hair. "And...you know that orphanage you're going to? Alma Gans' home for orphaned teens? Well, my aunt is Alma Gans. I go and stay at the orphanage sometimes and I happened to be down there during Christmas break."_

_"She told me that she had a new chick that was going to be coming as soon as their case was finished. As soon as she said your name, I did a double take. 'Finny Anderson'." Martha shook her head, chuckling softly._

_"I made her pull out a photo of you. And then I still didn't believe her."_

_Finny's eyes widened._

_"So, I'll still see you?" _

_"On special occasions like Holidays and stuff." Martha nodded, smiling. "Alma practically raised me. My mom had to work all the time, so I always went over to her orphanage after school. I watched kids I had been friends with get adopted. They'd be so happy. I remember..." _

_Martha stopped, making a face._

_"When I was, like, three or four, someone left a baby on my Aunt's doorstep. Alma had just started getting the orphanage on its feet; she only had two kids with her. Some girl named Anya and some boy named Max. They're still at the orphanage to this day, so we're all pretty close."_

_"What happened to the baby on the doorstep?" Finny asked, grabbing her bag. She knew that the kids would need inside the classroom pretty soon._

_"Oh, Alma found a family for her pretty quickly." Martha responded, also grabbing her bag._

_"Alright," Mrs. Reese handed Finny a piece of paper. "Your schedule is the exact same as it was before you left. Enjoy your last day, Finny." _

_Finny nodded, allowing Martha to loop her arm around hers and lead her out of the class room._

* * *

_They ridiculed her._

_Devin was no where to be found, Kyndall gave her nervous smiles and pretended that they were never friends, Taylor didn't even look her way, and Keri wasn't at school. Martha apologized, telling her that she had something to take care of during lunch, but she'd see Finny back in class._

_So, as she sat in lunch for her very last time, she sat alone. She ate the crackers and drank the water that she asked the officers to get for her in silence. A few people stared at her, whispers leaving their mouths as they gossiped to their friends. _

_Finny managed to keep her head down, her bangs covering her face as she stared at the plastic baggy in her hand._

_When she felt someone tap her shoulder, she felt joy vibrate throughout her bones. _  
_When she turned and saw who was standing there, all that joy disappeared._

_"Oh, hello, Finny. I didn't know that you were back!" _

_The girl spoke with such fake cheeriness that Finny felt herself flinch._

_"...no one knew 'cept for the teachers, Danyell."_

_Danyell nodded, glancing around._

_"I need to talk to you. In the bathroom. Come on."_

_Finny started to shake her head as she noticed the darkness in Danyell's eyes, but she knew that if she didn't go, she'd regret it. Getting up and grabbing her bag, she followed the girl into the familiar bathroom._

_Danyell leaned against the far wall, just as Finny had done with Christina. Finny stood in front of her awkwardly, grabbing at the sleeves of her jacket._

_Danyell smiled softly, staring down at the sleeves which extended over her hands._

_"That jacket looks cute on you."_

_Finny made a noise, her eyebrows furrowing._

_"You're probably wondering what I wanted. I just wanted to be alone, without all those people around us. I have something to tell you." Danyell, crossed her arms across her chest._

_Finny noticed the Gemini bracelet that she was wearing. Finny glanced down at her own arm and could see the outline of her own Leo bracelet through the fabric. They had gotten the bracelets together, back when they were friends._

_"I've always wanted to tell you this, but I was just afraid. I was afraid of facing the world, of putting myself out there like this. I never meant to hurt you as badly as I did." Danyell sighed, glancing down. "I realize now that I've always felt guilty about treating you the way I did. But I only treated you that way because I wanted to distance myself from you. You were something that I wanted to be, but I just couldn't be. You're..." _

_She stopped, hesitating._

_"You were the best friend that I've ever had. You never judged me when I did things wrong. And, even when I called you at three in the morning sobbing, you didn't hang up the phone. Even though you admitted to me that you loved me only a week before. That phone call started that...that long line of things I did to you. I called you at three in the morning, sobbing about how I loved that boy but could never be with him because I wanted you to be jealous. I knew that you could never be with me, but I still made all of that up just so I could make you angry."_

_Danyell pinched her arms, her eyebrows scrunched together._

_"I'm rambling here, I'm sorry. I'm making no sense at all. But...I did all of that just to spite you. You told me that you loved me and I told you that I loved you back. I never specified between platonic and actual love because I knew that, if I didn't specify it, it would hurt you. And I wanted you to be hurt, Finny! I wanted you to be heart broken and sobbing and turn into a giant, emotionless shell!" Danyell was laughing now, her hands clenched at her sides._

_Finny bit her lip, her eyes narrowing._

_"And that's what you ended up being! I pushed you away because I didn't want to admit that I loved you back! I told you that you were my everything and that you meant the world to me. I stole kisses from you and poked your boobs from time to time, just to feel their warmth!" _

_Finny crossed her arms over her chest, taking a small step back. Danyell noticed, so she took a small step forward, reaching out._

_"Danyell, you're being - "_

_"Oh, I loved you. I loved you with every fiber of my being. But I could never admit it. So, I pushed you away. I wanted you to suffer. First, I just started off by telling your mother and my other friends. I told them how creepy you were. But, once you left..." Danyell's eyes were wild, her hands grabbing onto Finny's shoulders, shaking her. "You left me! You left me here alone with these feelings. How did you do it, Finny? How did you ever get by, feeling like this?!" _

_Finny blinked, biting the inside of her lip so hard that it bled._

_"I told people lies because you left! I told them that you harassed me. That you locked Christina up in your basement. I told them that your mom was okay with that, but pulled you out of school because of it. I made up stories about how sick and twisted you were. The only one who ever stuck up for you was that Martha girl. Oh, how she tried, but no one believed her." Danyell smiled._

_"And no one's going to believe you, either! You're only one person! In fact, you're not even that! You're so quiet and so shy!" _

_Danyell pressed down harder on Finny's injured arm. Finny made a noise, pain shooting though her bone._

_"It hurts!"_

_Danyell ignored her._

"No one's ever going to believe you! Your words mean nothing. No one even liked you enough to stick up for you, except for that stupid Martha and those ignorant teachers! Why even bother speaking anymore, Finny Anderson? You should just stay quiet, because your words aren't worth anything!" 

_Finny managed to break away, stumbling backwards._

_"No one's ever going to listen to you! You're not even important! Who ate with you at lunch? No one did! The only one who cared enough was me! I'm the only one who will ever care about you! I'm the only person you deserve!"_

_Finny's back hit the wall opposite of Danyell. She stared at the other girl, her eyes wide. Danyell walked over, cupping Finny's cheek and pressing her lips softly against the shaken girl._

_"I'm the only person you'll ever truly have."_

* * *

_Finny didn't go back to class. Instead, she ran out of the bathroom, her head down. She ran to the police officer who sat with the group of teachers in the corner of the room. He glanced at her, worried. _

_She didn't have to tell him that she couldn't do it. She didn't have to speak a word._

_Instead, he got up, leading her out of the cafeteria doors._

_She kept her head down, Danyell's words reeling in her head. Maybe she was right. Maybe silence was the key. _

_Later that day, she arrived at Alma's orphanage. _

_She kept her head down through her introduction. She kept her head down as Anya led her to her room. She kept her head down as Anya informed her that they'd be sharing the room together. She kept her head down as Anya asked if it was okay that she listened to her radio on full volume. She kept her head down as Anya pulled out three drawers on the dresser, informing her that those three and half of the closet was hers. She kept her head down as she unpacked her clothing and folded them, carefully placing them into the drawers. She kept her head down as Anya led her to the dining room for dinner. She kept her head down as she was introduced to the other orphans, by Anya, no less. She kept her head down as she skittered up the staircase afterwards, grabbing her pajamas and changing in the bathroom. She kept her head down as she climbed into bed, covering her face with the comforter._

_She only allowed herself to look up as Anya entered the room. Anya didn't notice Finny's eyes watching her, but Finny noticed the concerned look that was aimed at her. _

_"I don't know what's wrong with you, Kid. I don't know your story. But I'll figure it out. And I'll protect you."_

_Finny's eyes widened at the words, her brain shouting at her to say something. Anything._

_"Th-" Finny gulped, burrowing her head into the covers. "Thank you." She croaked, finally._

_Anya looked over, pulling her shirt over her head._

_"Oh, you heard me?"_

_Finny looked at her again, pulling the cover down past her eyes. She nodded slightly. Anya smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of her head._

_"Sorry if that was too creepy. You're just too cute and too innocent that I couldn't help myself!" Anya winked, pulling up her pajama pants._

_Finny didn't respond, but her eyes didn't leave Anya as the older girl walked to their lamp, flicking off the light._

_Right before the lights went off, Finny noticed a slender scar extending from Anya's right eye. _

_It was the last thing she saw that night, before she finally closed her eyes against the darkness._

* * *

**You can also call this chapter 'Three times someone said they were going to help/protect Finny and one time Finny actually responded'.  
Thanks for reading!  
**


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